PITTSBURGH -- Some local kids got a jump start on reading with the help of Pittsburgh Steelers player Darnell Stapleton.

He read the children’s book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to the preschool kids at American Eagle's headquarters on the South Side.

It was all part of the Jump Start Reading Program which tries to get low-income pre-school students interested in reading.

Stapleton explained why he thinks reading is so important.

He said, “A lot of them go through their whole life not knowing how to read and to go out and stress the importance of reading to have an event like this is huge for them and for our community.”

After reading the book, Stapleton held the kids make caterpillars out of socks and cotton balls. experience will raise public awareness about the early education gap that exists between income levels, as well as raise money to support Jumpstart's national early education programs.