My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been a volunteer with this program since 2005. I learned about the organization from members of my church who had been active volunteers for yeats and spoke in glowing terms about it. The program focuses on kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students, who are selected by their teachers as children who might benefit from the one on one attention, and the exposure to reading and books that they may not be receiving at home. I have worked with each grade level during my 4 years in the program, and have seen each student's comprehension and social interaction skills improve considerably. My most unique and rewarding experience occurred during the 2008-09 school year. I read to a 2nd grade student from Yemen, whose English skills were limited. It was frustrating at first, as it was difficult to know just how much he was profiting from the experience, and much of our time was spent in reciting the alphabet, numbers exercises and object identification. After consultation with the site coordinator, his teacher, and his other reader(each child is read to 30 minutes per week by 2 different adults), we made some adaptations to the normal program, and he thrived. His ability to converse in English improved, his social interactions were more frequent and comfortable and his comprehension was such that he listened to and seemed to understand much of what was read to him. I am a retired Probation Officer, and know first hand the importance of early intervention programs. The strengths of Read Aloud are the quality of its books, the dedication of its staff and volunteers and the individual attention the students receive. If you enjoy working with children and are looking for a positive volunteer experience, this is the place for you.

More Feedback