Each year, from the October to the December reading clubs, we ask our supporters to help us inspire underserved children with a love of reading by making a donation to Reading to Kids.

Reading to Kids has been able to thrive thanks to the thousands of hours of participation by teachers, administrators, parents, volunteers, and elementary school children (click here for program statistics) and thanks to generous financial contributions by foundations, businesses, agencies, and individuals like you.

In May 1999, Reading to Kids held its first reading club with 20 students and 8 volunteers at Gratts Elementary School. Twenty three years later across eight elementary partner schools, an average of 287 Reading to Kids volunteers read to 554 children each month prior to the pandemic, with an average of 75 volunteers reading to 170 children while we were limited to using Zoom from May 2020 to August 2022. Starting September 10, 2022 we are back to in-person, on campus reading clubs, and 188 volunteers read aloud to 343 kids that morning!

Kids emerge from our program with more enthusiasm for reading, books for their home library, stronger school libraries, personal relationships with volunteers, and changed attitudes for reading in English! Reading to Kids appears to be one of the few extracurricular activities consistently available to students during the ongoing pandemic.

To sustain and expand our program, we need your help! Your donation will help to purchase hardcover books for elementary school libraries in low-income communities, fund book donations directly to children and parents to help them develop their own home libraries, and expand our program into new schools and communities.

Please join us by donating to Reading to Kids today.

If you have any questions regarding the Annual Fund Drive, please feel free to contact Charlie Orchard at the Reading to Kids office at (310) 479-7455 or by email at Charlie.Orchard @ readingtokids.org.

Thank you for your support!