Reading Partners shares inspiring volunteerism stories during National Volunteer Week

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Sharon Harrington, Executive Director, Reading Partners Charlotte
sharon.harrington@staging.readingpartners.org, 704-618-4398

DURING NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH, A VOLUNTEER-LED LITERACY ORGANIZATION IS CELEBRATING THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN CHARLOTTE FUELING ITS PROVEN IMPACT IN UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES

(Charlotte, NC) April 11, 2016 — Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that collaborates with community volunteers and local public schools in Charlotte 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 Charlotte and across its 14 regions.

“While we’re proud that our program has been shown by rigorous research to boost reading proficiency, what is also so important is the social and emotional benefits and boost in confidence our students experience as a result of the one-on-one relationship they build with their reading partner,” said Sharon Harrington, Executive Director of Reading Partners Charlotte.

Here are a few examples of the countless inspiring stories of high-impact volunteerism taking place in Reading Partners reading centers in Charlotte:

1. Volunteers from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library share their love of reading with CMS students.

2. As a retired teacher, Carrie Durley, continues to use her experience to tutor and mentor Charlotte students through Reading Partners.

Today, only 40 percent of third graders in Mecklenburg County are reading on 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 Charlotte 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.

“I enjoy tutoring because of the joy of knowing I’m working to help improve a young person’s opportunity to succeed in life,” said Ron Matthews, a Reading Partners volunteer at Oakdale Elementary School. “Reading is the number one way to do this. Also, the smile on my student’s face when he walks in the classroom and sees me, is a moment I will never forget.”

Reading Partners Charlotte is looking for volunteers to commit to at least an hour a week to work individually with children who struggle with reading at the following schools:

To learn more, email volunteerNC@readingpartners.org or call 704-941-0525.

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 staging.readingpartners.org, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, to learn more.