Reading to Kids
Reading to Kids is a charitable organization that sponsors monthly reading clubs at inner-city elementary schools with low literacy rates in Los Angeles, California, United States. The organization provides books and volunteers who read to the children; after each reading club the books are donated to the schools' libraries, and each child receives a reading-related prize for attending. Reading to Kids also provides training for the parents of the participating children, offering guidance on how to encourage their children to read more at home.[1]
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History
The first reading clubs were offered in May 1999 at Gratts Elementary, a primary school located in Los Angeles's Westlake neighborhood. At the first reading club, initially known as the "Gratts Reading Club", eight volunteers read to twenty children. The club's popularity grew, and later in the same year its organizers formally created Reading to Kids.[2]
According to the organization's website, current volunteer attendance as of February, 2013, averages approximately 340 per month, and student participation has reached an average of 800 children at seven local schools.
Activities
Reading clubs
Reading to Kids hosts monthly reading clubs at seven Los Angeles area elementary schools. Pairs of volunteers read aloud to small groups of elementary school children, who range in grade level from kindergarten to fifth grade. The children are grouped according to grade level, and grade-level-appropriate books are selected each month by school faculty.
Reading to Kids' stated goal is, in part, to "help these children associate reading with pleasure and to promote the value of education and literacy." To that end, 30 to 45 minutes of each session are reserved for a craft project, during which the students and volunteers create art related to the day's book. Often the clubs are themed; these themes extend from the choice of books for the different grade levels to the craft projects undertaken by the children.[3]
First-time volunteers typically participate in brief training sessions, during which program organizers review the clubs' rules and guidelines, and communicate other information about the roles of the volunteers and the activities planned for the day.
At the end of each session, volunteers give each child a book to take home.
Book donations
Reading to Kids also strives to develop the library resources of participating schools through book donations. The books purchased or donated for use at the reading clubs are later donated to school libraries.
Additionally, at the conclusion of each reading club the children are given free books. Reading to Kids notes that "60% percent of low-income homes do not have age-appropriate reading materials for children.".[4]
Parental workshops
Parents are invited to attend parent training workshops that run contemporaneously with the reading clubs. Teachers provide training to parents on how to continue the benefits of the reading club by reading to their children at home.[5]
Sponsors and volunteer organizations
The organization receives support from various groups, including alumni groups, student organizations, public and private companies, and other charitable foundations.[6]