BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's and women's basketball teams participated in a Cops 'n' Kids reading program at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Bethlehem on Thursday morning.

The squads opened their trip by participating in an assembly as each student-athlete said what they wanted to do after graduation and what their favorite children's book is. The Greyhounds then headed into the classrooms to read to the students, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. The Moravian players also signed autographs and talked basketball with the kids.

The Cops 'n' Kids Children's Literacy Program is a national initiative founded by Julia Burney Witherspoon, a police officer from Racine, Wisconsin. In 2003, the program was formally adopted by Quota International of Bethlehem, establishing the Quota International of Bethlehem Charitable Trust Cops 'n' Kids Children's Literacy Program.

In Bethlehem, Moravian's student-athletes work closely with Beverly Bradley, President, Cops 'n' Kids Lehigh Valley. The Greyhounds' athletic teams do a number of events with Cops 'n' annually, and the basketball squads look forward to the time in January before classes for the spring semester begin when they visit several Bethlehem schools.

Cops 'n' Kids ensures that every child has access – in his or her home – to books and the knowledge, inspiration and hope that such access can provide. The program also encourages positive relationships between children and police while inspiring creative learning for children and families by providing meaningful literacy-based experiences.

Click here for a photo gallery of the program at Thomas Jefferson on Thursday.