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Reading to Kids ("R2K") is a charitable organization that sponsors monthly reading clubs at inner-city elementary schools with low literacy rates in Los Angeles, CA. The organization provides books and volunteers who read to the children; after each reading club the books are donated to the school's library and the children receive a reading-related prize for attending. R2K also provides training for the parents of the participating children, offering guidance on how to encourage their children to read more at home.^[1]

1 History
2 Activities
3 Sponsors and Volunteer Organizations
4 Financial Accountability
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

In May 1999 Gratts Elementary, a primary school located in Los Angeles's impoverished Westlake neighborhood, initiated new program called the "Gratts Reading Club." At its inception the program was organized and operated by eight volunteers; student attendance at the first club was approximately 20. Popular among the children, administrators and volunteers, the program quickly became a success, and later in the same year R2K was formally created.^[2]

Student and volunteer participation in R2K's reading clubs has grown steadily. According to the organization's website, current volunteer attendance is approximately 200 per month, and student participation has reached an average of 750 children among five local schools.^[3]

[edit] Activities

[edit] Reading Clubs

R2K hosts monthly reading clubs at 5 inner-city elementary schools in Los Angeles, CA. At the reading clubs, pairs of volunteers read aloud to small groups of elementary school children. The children are divided into groups according to grade level, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. Books are selected each month by school faculty; typically a first-grade teacher will choose the book to be read to the first-grade students, and so on.

R2K strives to make the experience pleasant for both the children who participate and the volunteers; the organization's stated goal is, in part, to "help these children associate reading with pleasure and to promote the value of education and literacy." To that end, 30 to 45 minutes of each session are reserved for a craft project, during which the students and volunteers create art related to the day's book. Often the clubs are themed; these themes extend from the choice of books for the different grade levels to the craft projects undertaken by the children.^[4]

First-time volunteers typically participate in brief training sessions, during which program organizers review the clubs' rules and guidelines, and communicate other information about the roles of the volunteers and the activities planned for the day.

At the end of each session, volunteers provide each child with a book of his own as a reward for attending.

[edit] Book Donations

R2K also strives to develop the library resources of participating schools through book donations. When books are purchased for use at the reading clubs, they are donated to the schools' libraries afterward.

Moreover, at the conclusion of each reading club the children are provided with free books as a reward for their attendance. The organization notes that "60% percent of low-income homes do not have age-appropriate reading materials for children."

[edit] Parental Workshops

Parents are invited to attend Parent Training Workshops that run contemporaneously with the reading clubs. Teachers provide training to parents on how to continue the benefits of the reading club by reading to their children at home.