Greenville Triumph celebrates young readers as Read to Score reaches more than 43,000 students
October 29, 2026
Teacher participation nearly doubles as students across eight Upstate counties take part in the club’s annual literacy challenge
Greenville Triumph SC’s Read to Score literacy challenge wrapped up its 2026 program with more than 43,000 students enrolled across 73 schools and homeschool groups in the Upstate. Presented by ScanSource in collaboration with GE Vernova, the free program encourages strong reading habits, celebrates students’ achievements in the classroom and creates meaningful connections between young people and the club.
Over three weeks, from Sept. 14 through Oct. 2, students in grades K4-8 chose their own books and worked through a Bingo card of reading activities. Triumph players followed along with weekly encouragement videos in English and Spanish. By the close of the challenge, 2,703 students had completed a full Bingo card.
“The impact we hope for goes beyond three weeks of reading,” said James Kalinowski, Greenville Pro Soccer’s director of operations and technology. “We want students to build confidence as readers and to feel like they’re part of this club. Seeing them walk onto the field on Saturday, proud of what they accomplished, was a great way to close out this year’s program.”
Teachers helped bring the program into classrooms across Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, Anderson and Union counties. This year, 2,485 teachers participated, up from 1,316 in 2025, and 27 schools and homeschool groups joined for the first time. Participants included elementary, middle and private schools, homeschool groups and the Greenville County Virtual Program.
“As this program comes to a close, we are proud to celebrate its impact on more than 43,000 students across Upstate schools,” said Wendy Thacker, vice president of philanthropy and community engagement at ScanSource. “Literacy opens doors for future opportunities, and this program shows how meaningful progress can happen when schools, community partners, and supporters come together for young learners.”
Students who completed the challenge earned a free ticket to the Triumph’s Fan Appreciation Night on October 17, where they were recognized with a halftime parade on the field. At Monarch Elementary, GE Vernova provided pencil kits for all third-grade students and STEM kits for five classrooms.
“It’s exciting to see so many schools and families across the Upstate embrace Read to Score,” said Rebecca Gburek, Greenville plant leader at GE Vernova. “Reading opens so many doors for young people, and we’re proud to collaborate with the Greenville Triumph and ScanSource on a program that makes learning fun and encourages kids to explore new interests.”
“It’s exciting to see so many schools and families across the Upstate embrace Read to Score,” said Rebecca Gburek, Greenville Plant Leader at GE Vernova. “Reading opens so many doors for young people, and we’re proud to collaborate with the Greenville Triumph and ScanSource on a program that makes learning fun and encourages kids to explore new interests.”
Read to Score has reached more than 180,000 students since it began in 2019. Enrollment has more than doubled since 2022, when about 16,000 students took part. The program reflects the Triumph’s commitment to making a positive difference in the Upstate beyond match days.
Schools interested in joining Read to Score next year can contact Megan Kolak at [email protected]. Information about 2027 season tickets is available at Triumphtix.com.
ABOUT THE GREENVILLE TRIUMPH AND GREENVILLE LIBERTY
The Greenville Triumph Soccer Club, based in Greenville, South Carolina, fields a men’s professional soccer club playing its eighth season in USL League One, the third division of American professional soccer. The Greenville Liberty, a women’s pre-professional team, played its inaugural season in the USL W League in 2022. Learn more at GreenvilleTriumph.com and GreenvilleLiberty.com.
ABOUT SCANSOURCE
ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) is a leading technology distributor uniquely positioned to address complex technologies and to accelerate growth for channel sales partners across hardware, software as a service (SaaS), connectivity and cloud services. ScanSource uses multiple sales models to offer technology solutions from leading suppliers of specialty technologies, connectivity and cloud services. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, ScanSource has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina and on the Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies List. ScanSource ranks #923 on the Fortune 1000. For more information, visit www.scansource.com.
ABOUT GE VERNOVA
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with approximately 75,000 employees across approximately 100 countries around the world.
