April 11, 2016
Reading Partners Seattle shares inspiring volunteerism stories during National Volunteer Week
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Afi Tengue, Executive Director, Reading Partners Seattle
afi.tengue@readingpartners.
VOLUNTEER-LED LITERACY ORGANIZATION CELEBRATES NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
(Seattle, WA) April 11, 2016 — Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that collaborates with community volunteers and local public schools in Seattle to equip students with the foundational skills they need to be able to read at grade level by fourth grade. The proven early literacy organization has been providing volunteer-led, individualized reading support to students in under-resourced public elementary schools since 1999.
April is National Volunteer Month (and April 10-16 is National Volunteer Week), so Reading Partners is celebrating the tremendous dedication and impact of its thousands of volunteer tutors by sharing a sampling of the uplifting stories playing out every day in Reading Partners reading centers in Seattle and across its 14 regions.
Here are a few examples of the countless inspiring stories of high-impact volunteerism taking place in Reading Partners reading centers in Seattle:
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Every day Debbie tutors, she is making a difference in the community. After seeing one of her students continuously struggle through alphabet practice, Debbie offered to come 4 times a week for that student. Since then, not only has the student grown in their alphabetic principle, but their teacher has commented on the immense impact Debbie has had on their academics and confidence in learning.
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For her students, Laura has been an advocate and a true educator. Over the past four months alone, Laura has led over 50 tutoring sessions. She understands and has expressed many times that her consistency and reliability will allow her young students to transform socio-emotional barriers and develop trusting relationships.
Today, three out of four fourth grade students from low-income families in Washington are reading below grade-level. Reading is the foundation for all future learning. Without developing the reading skills needed to read on grade level, kids won’t have an equitable chance to succeed in school or in life. With the dedication of more than 14,000 volunteer tutors in Seattle and across the US, Reading Partners’ volunteers are helping more than 10,000 students make the all-important shift from learning to read to reading to learn.
Reading Partners Seattle is looking for volunteers to commit to at least an hour a week to work individually with children who struggle with reading at one of four schools in Seattle:
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Beverly Park Elementary – Burien
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Highland Park Elementary – West Seattle
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Sanislo Elementary – West Seattle
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Olympic Hills Elementary – North Seattle
To learn more, please email volunteerSEA@readingpartners.
About Reading Partners
Reading Partners empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. The national nonprofit organization will provide proven, individualized literacy tutoring to more than 10,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia in 2016. Visit readingpartners.org, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, to learn more.
