Kristi Yamaguchi, who realized her dreams in 1992 by winning Olympic gold as a figure skater, wants to help today’s children find and achieve their own dreams.
That’s the goal of the Always Dream Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes early childhood literacy that she founded, and why she visited Sacramento’s Hazel Strauch Elementary School on Monday to join the school’s Always Reading year-end celebration.
“We really hope that providing these literacy resources for them, and also the family engagement support for their families which is really the core part of our program, has given them the foundation to enjoy picking up a book, get excited about reading and unlocking their dreams,” Yamaguchi said.
Yamaguchi read her children’s story “Cara’s Kindness,” which is about a cat who asks for help picking a song for an ice-skating routine.
The Bee’s Paul Kitagaki Jr. contributed to this story.
Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi listens to a question from a student after reading from her book “Cara’s Kindness” at Hazel Strauch Elementary School in Sacramento on Monday. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com 
Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi makes a pinky promise with a student to keep learning to read as she reads from her book “Cara’s Kindness” to students at Hazel Strauch Elementary School in Sacramento on Monday. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
The Sacramento Bee
Pulitzer-winning visual journalist Paul Kitagaki Jr. has covered deadly earthquakes in California and Mexico and 10 Olympic Games. His book and traveling exhibition “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit” focus on the Japanese American incarceration. He joined The Bee 2003.