New Haven Reads

New Haven Reads, founded to “share the joy and power of reading,” increases the literacy skills of children to empower their academic success by providing individually tailored one-on-one after-school tutoring, educational family support, and a community book bank, all at no cost to participants.

Since New Haven Reads was founded in 2001, we have supported more than 3,500 students and distributed over 1.7 million books back into the community, thanks to the help of over 2,900 volunteers.

Today, the one-on-one tutoring program serves over 500 children every week at four New Haven locations, our Book Bank distributes more than 100,000 free books annually, and our Pre-K/Kindergarten program serves 55 children every week. With our dedicated, professional staff and the commitment of over 400 volunteers, our free literacy programs support families in need and create skilled and confident readers.

New Haven Reads transforms the lives of children, their families, and the communities they live in due to the incredible power of literacy.