Hearing these words from 9-year-old Tavan last week was pure joy!
“Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”
I was invited to see the opening of a new chapter of Reading Partners, a literacy program for elementary school children, here in town. You may remember the post on Reading Partners from last spring. It was so exciting to witness progress in action. When 9-year-old, Tavan got up and read Dr. Seuss in front of a group of strangers with pride, you can’t help but get excited.
Reading Partners began a decade ago, as three women noticed their local elementary school in trouble and wanted to help. Their goals were simple:
- Focus on children from low-income communities.
- Give one-on-one instruction at the student’s reading level.
- Recruit and train community volunteers to work with children.
- Partner with high-need elementary schools to offer an effective program on campus.
- Provide a way for volunteers to give a small amount of their time to make a huge difference in a child’s life.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvcVGPm–ww&feature=plcp]
These three women started out with one school and today Reading Partners has over 5,000 volunteers in 65 schools in 5 states…all because a few women cared about their community and committed to making it better. Do you have an hour to spare a week? Maybe do you know someone who might? Simply click here and go under volunteers. You can change a child’s life simply by helping them read.
“Oh! The places you’ll go!”
Charity Matters.
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