Read to Me – Creating Literacy Mentors

Today’s guest blogger, Barbara Greenway, is the Founder and Director of The Read to Me Project.

When I ask the kids in my program how many of them struggle in school, half of their hands raise in the air.

It can be frustrating to spend your day in an environment where you feel you can’t succeed. So it comes as no surprise that kids who struggle in school become disengaged, stop trying and drop out.

We created the Read to Me Project to motivate kids to keep trying – and to break the cycle of low literacy in our community.

With help from First Book, our 4th, 5th and 6th graders check out all kinds of great books to read to their younger siblings at home. Their reading skills improve and their siblings get a head start.

Most of the kids in the Read to Me Project don’t own books. Their families struggle to get by. English is often their second language, and reading is not a common activity at home.

With new books to read all the time, our kids blossom. They take ownership of their learning and that of their siblings. They become literacy role models in their families.

I want all kids to love school, to be enthusiastic learners, to have big dreams and the skills they need to make those dreams come true. With books, all things are possible.