Our ReadingPals volunteers have been paired with thousands of young children in Florida. They build meaningful relationships and help improve their social-emotional development and early literacy skills.
Why is ReadingPals Important?
In 2022, 50% of children in Florida are not ready for Kindergarten and 47% of students cannot read at a minimally proficient level by the end of third grade. Early intervention and individualized attention gives students the best likelihood of success. Studies show that children with mentors are more confident and have fewer behavioral problems.
What Do We Hope to Achieve?
- MENTORING: To build a love of reading through impactful relationships between students and mentors.
- EARLY LITERACY: To improve students’ understanding of the fundamental building blocks of early literacy.
- SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: To help students build a strong social-emotional foundation through self-awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
Where is ReadingPals Available?
ReadingPals is managed by The Children’s Movement of Florida, United Ways and numerous community partners. Our local partners in 20+ Florida counties help us provide in-person ReadingPals opportunities in hundreds of classrooms, child care centers and afterschool programs. Some regions also offer a virtual mentoring version of ReadingPals, accessible from any smart device.
2022-2023 ReadingPals Impact
- 19 Participating Counties
- 500 Classrooms
- 2,575 Students Matched
- 1,317 Volunteer Mentors
- 36,871 Take-Home Books Donated
- 61,919 Reading Sessions
Join ReadingPals
What is the Commitment?
ReadingPals volunteers are asked to commit an hour per week with their student(s) for 25+ weeks during the school year (some programs may offer a 30-minute per week or semester option). Thousands of volunteers have made this commitment, many of which return for multiple years!
What Impact Have You Made?
Over the last decade, more than 25,000 students have received a ReadingPals mentor and a share of 470,000 donated books. This is all made possible thanks to the Barnett family’s generosity and passion for promoting literacy and early childhood development.
How Can I Get Started?
Once signed up through The Children’s Movement of Florida or local United Way/agency, volunteers are connected with a regional coordinator who will provide details about participating schools in your area, available time slots, background screening, training, and curriculum.
What Else Can I Do?
ReadingPals volunteers see the importance of early education first-hand and gain exposure to the challenges many teachers and students face in the classroom. We hope the ReadingPals experience will inspire our volunteers to become advocates alongside The Children’s Movement, promoting greater investment in Florida’s youngest children.
Celebrating 11 Years of ReadingPals
Our 2023 ReadingPals Conference & Celebration convened hundreds of our volunteers, partners, and parents. We explored the importance of early literacy intervention, mentoring, and the Science of Reading. Take a look at the full recap of our event, speakers, and resources here.
Statewide Volunteer Training Module: The Science of Reading
At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, The Children’s Movement of Florida hosted our first statewide training module for ReadingPals volunteers and partners. Here, you can watch the recorded training video (60 minutes), download the presentation, and explore some of the online resources shared in the presentation.
ReadingPals News
Reading buddies needed: United Way ReadingPals looking for mentors
From Citrus County Chronicle: “With August coming up, more children will need reading buddies. ReadingPals mentors don’t have to have an education background. They just need energy, enthusiasm, and a heart for kids.”
United Way recruiting volunteers for ‘ReadingPals’ program during upcoming school year
From Ocala News: “Volunteers will placed in targeted, kindergarten classrooms in 19 elementary schools for the 2019-2020 school year to assist students in building critical literacy skills.”
Reading program will expand: United Way needs volunteers to serve 19 elementary schools
From Ocala Star Banner: “ReadingPals are paired with struggling students. The volunteer works one-on-one with their assigned student for the length of the program.”
ReadingPals for kindergarteners needs volunteers
From The Lakeland Ledger: “The ReadingPals program is a fantastic opportunity to engage in students’ lives at a time when they are very impressionable and very much interested in that extra attention,” Barnett said.
ReadingPals Volunteer Has Quite a Story of Her Own
From Citrus County Chronicle: “Betty Rowe has spunk and grit, and she brings it with her each week to Crystal River Primary School where she’s a United Way ReadingPals volunteer.”
Want to Leave a Legacy? Be a Mentor
From The New York Times: “Older people are uniquely suited for a mentoring role. The critical skills for nurturing relationships — emotional regulation and empathy — blossom as we age.”
Welcoming Older Adults into the Head Start Classroom
From Medium: “Encourage volunteers to share their skills and hobbies. Invite volunteers to connect their lives to children’s interest and your curriculum.”
Bridging more than just a reading gap
From Sarasota Herald-Tribune: “The mission of the Literacy Lab is to provide low-income children with individualized reading instruction to improve their literacy skills, leading to greater success in school and increased opportunities in life.”
Educating homeless parents on the importance of early childhood education
From The Philadelphia Inquirer: “According to child experts, early experiences of homelessness are associated with higher rates of developmental delays, poor academic achievement, asthma, attention problems, poor social and emotional functioning, acting out, and other difficulties.”
Acts of Kindness: Foster Grandparents Volunteer To Teach Students
From Star-Herald: “After dedicating their day to teaching the students, the foster grandparents feel a sense of pride as they watch the students interact with others in public for years.”
It Only Takes One Dedicated Mentor to Shape a Child’s Future
From Boca Raton Tribune: “If children are truly our future, then we adults owe them a helping hand in shaping it. We can do so through mentoring.”
Foster Grandparents Program Gives Children Love, Attention
From Reflector: “The children know these seasoned adults are not their teachers; they are their grandmas who take up extra time with them, teach them, give them hugs and welcome them onto their laps to read books.”
How San Antonio educators are bridging cultural gaps to involve parents
From San Antonio Express-News: “Educators across the country have emphasized parental engagement, because studies show students whose parents are involved outperform those whose parents do not appear engaged.”
Five Ways to Nurture Compassion in Kids
From Mind/Shift: “Do more than have conversations about being compassionate with your child, look for ways to act compassionately at home and in your community.”
How to Get Preschoolers to Share
From The New York Times Magazine: “To foster empathic behavior like sharing, helping and comforting others in a child, guide them into the inner world of feelings — their own and those of others.”
Foster grandparents volunteer and share their love at schools
From CBS News: “Wearing blue aprons and serving up hugs are six foster grandmothers working alongside the school’s teachers to help students succeed.”
Parents learn, babies talk: How coaching moms and dads improves infants' language skills
From Science Daily: “A new study shows that parents who learn how and why to speak ‘parentese’ can have a direct impact on their children’s vocabulary.”
Home visiting helps children and parents — more families could use it
From The Hill: “Home visiting typically serves families with children under age 6 not yet in kindergarten — from single parents juggling new responsibilities to teen parents completing high school. It can be an especially important lifeline for military families.”
‘A big balloon of joy’: D.C. grandparents give students mentors and themselves a purpose
From The Washington Post: “The Foster Grandparent Program aims to give seniors across the country a purpose in retirement by providing some of the neediest children with mentors and giving teachers help in the classroom.”
Support Helping Children? Step Up and Volunteer Now
From The Tallahassee Democrat: “Do you love to read? Join the Reading Pals program and give that one-on-one attention that is so important for children struggling to read. ”
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