Get involved with Reading Partners Baltimore: Summer 2015

Reading Partners mobilizes the community to give back to Baltimore’s youth by connecting one caring adult with one struggling young reader. We recruit, train, and coordinate community volunteers to work directly with elementary students whose reading skills have fallen below grade level. This is achieved through a highly structured, supportive program in host schools. Beyond providing one-on-one tutoring, our volunteers build powerful relationships with their student, bridge the gap between community and school, and impart invaluable core literacy skills on Baltimore’s children.

Reading Partners is a program that works. Last year, 91 percent of our target students accelerated their rate of learning, with the average student learning three times faster while enrolled in the program!

We currently serve 486 students each week, with the help of over 500 weekly volunteers, in nine Title I elementary schools throughout Baltimore. However many more children need our help and Reading Partners is expanding. In the next school year we will bring individualized, community-driven instruction to 14 schools and hundreds more of Baltimore’s children. In order to ensure all of our students get the reading support they deserve, we’ll need your help. Find out how you can get involved.

Here’s how you can get involved.

Volunteer. We are seeking community volunteers to become reading partners in the 2015-16 school year. All it takes is an hour a week. Click here to sign up.

Donate. Help us serve even more students next year by sponsoring a student or helping us stock our reading centers. Click here to make an online tax-deductible donation.

Learn more. Join Reading Partners for an information session this summer. Meet staff and tutors, ask questions, and get an overview of what it means to be a reading partner (more info below).

Stay engaged. We have some great summer events planned. Join reading partners for a family picnic, happy hour and more. Here’s a list of our summer events:

Info sessions

Location: 916 N Charles
Dates/times:
Thursday, June 11, 8:30-9:30 am
Saturday, June 27, 3-4 pm
Thursday, July 2, 6-7 pm
Saturday, July 25, 10-11 am
Thursday, August 6, 6-7 pm
Saturday, August 22, 3-4 pm
Friday, August 28, 8:30-9:30 am

Family picnic and kickball game

Sunday, August 23 from 12-7 pm at Pavilion 1 in Patterson Park (27 South Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21231)

Bring your friends, family, and some food to share (sides, drinks, or dessert), and join us in Patterson Park. We will be grilling, playing games, and recruiting for our very own Reading Partners kickball team. Come out and join the fun!

Happy hours

Tuesday, July 21 from 5-7 pm at Ryleigh’s Oyster in Mount Vernon (1225 Cathedral St, Baltimore MD, 21201)

Tuesday, September 29 from 6-9 pm at Mount Washington Tavern Sky Bar (5700 Newbury Street, Baltimore MD, 21209)

To learn more about Reading Partners visit staging.readingpartners.org.