Love to Read?? Share that love with a Kindergarten student!

United Way of Marion County, Florida is seeking volunteers to read to kindergarten students who have been identified as needing additional foundational literacy skill support. Volunteers will be on school campuses during a designated time. The 18 Kindergarten classrooms are spread throughout Marion County. . This consists of reading to a child a pre-selected book, discussing the book with the student and reinforce particular focus points. At the back of each book there are questions to facilitate a conversation that focuses on comprehension and that are correlated to what is being taught in the classroom. The volunteer commitment consists of one hour with two 30 minute one to one sessions during the school day, once or twice a week on Tuesday or Thursday for 28 weeks starting September 15th until April 28th.

This year we are offering a “ Prelude to ReadingPals- An overview of the program” at Master the Possibilities. It will be held on Thursday, August 6th at 9 a.m. in Oak Hall . This free program will be an overview of the ReadingPals program. How you can groom a kindergartener into a bright future through reading. Yes, YOU can make a difference in the life of a kindergartener just by being a ReadingPal. To register for this To register for the work shop you must register with Master the Possibilities and with me. The street address is 8415 S.W. 80th Street. The website for Master the Possibilities is www.masterthepossibilities.org. The phone number is 352-861-9751. The class number is VOL123A.

There are two training workshops scheduled at this time. The first is at Master the Possibilities located in the Circle Square Commons of On Top of the World. The workshop is on August 27th at 9 a.m. To register for the work shop you must register with Master the Possibilities and with me. The street address is 8415 S.W. 80th Street. The website for Master the Possibilities is www.masterthepossibilities.org. The phone number is 352-861-9751. The class number VOL 124 A.

The second workshop will be held on September 3rd at 2 p.m. in the Community Room of United Way of Marion County located at 1401 N.E. 2nd Street, Ocala. To register for this session please email me at jhathaway@uwmc.org.

Training materials and background screening will be provided.

You choose the school based on your schedule and location and the school scheduled session times on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

With sessions being during the day it can be a challenge. There is the option of a Tuesday evening session. It is 6 p.m. -730 p.m. with the Strong Families program. The children are five to nine years old and are at a variety of reading levels. Please email me at jhathaway@uwmc.org if you are interested.

"The single greatest gift we can give a child is not more tests or standards; it’s a relationship with an adult who believes with relentless tenacity in their ability to succeed."