Reading to Kids News

November 9, 2001  

College Day Is Declared for Volunteers!

Hundreds of children will voluntarily attend school on Saturday, November 10 at 10:00 AM to participate in Reading to Kids, a volunteer organization formed in 1999. The purpose of the program is to provide elementary school children in the Los Angeles area with a brighter future through a monthly reader club, and to increase children?s reading skills.

This Saturday, all volunteers are going to wear college t-shirts and sweatshirts to the reading clubs. Many of the volunteers are from local colleges such as UCLA, USC, and LMU. The teachers at the schools have said that the repetition of seeing and hearing the names of colleges and universities can help encourage the children to go to college themselves. The children, most of whom are English language learners, are read stories and engaged in crafts that will support future success. The National Commission of Reading states that the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. Reading to Kids is a non-profit organization that operates completely through the assistance of volunteers and donations.