Greetings!
Last Wednesday, the Community Foundation of North Central Florida opened up the link for donations to The Amazing Give. So far, we've raised more than $1,025 of our $5,000 goal – that’s 22 percent of our goal and counting!
These funds are very important to ReadingPals because every dollar goes toward helping a struggling student improve his or her chances at academic success down the road. Take Dameria, for example. She is a 2
nd
grader and lacked the confidence she needed to improve her developing vocabulary. Dameria was so afraid to read aloud in her class that it took her 30 minutes to read one simple paragraph at home, according to her mother. That stumbling block can seem insurmountable to a child learning to read as research shows confidence is a basic building block to the development of strong reading habits.
Enter Barbara Ross – also known as “Aunt B” aka ReadingPal extraordinaire! Aunt B visited Dameria at school for one hour every week. They did more than just read. Soon, the pair played games, shared stories about their day and before long, a relationship developed. Out of that relationship Aunt B fostered growth in Dameria’s reading skills. Later, Dameria's mom shared that her young daughter loved to read in the classroom and at home. Dameria had gone from reading one chapter in 30 minutes to reading three chapters in the same time frame. That’s what ReadingPals can do for struggling readers – plant a love for reading through a trusting relationship.
As you can see, ReadingPals grows a student's love for reading and when a student learns to read, they can then
read to learn
.
For $25, you can provide a book pack full of books for children like Dameria. For $25 more, you can sponsor a game or activity that seeks to create highly engaged environments that foster literacy. For $250, you can stock an entire library at one ReadingPals site.
Ultimately, the choice to give is yours. Your investment in the life and mind of one child, like Dameria, is priceless.
Help us support this worthy endeavor to help struggling students and empower their ReadingPals, like Aunt B, to be unforgettable mentors.
