(Photo | Courtesy of SMART Reading)
Children’s literacy nonprofit SMART Reading received a $2,500 grant from SELCO Community Credit Union to sponsor two book giveaways in Bend, meaning that each of the 500 students served at eight local sites received two new books to keep and share with their families. “SELCO is committed to empowering our members and community—and for students, what’s more empowering than opening a new book of their own?” says Cheryl Cauthon, manager of SELCO’s Old Mill and West Bend branches. “As organizations that are passionate about removing barriers to learning, SMART and SELCO couldn’t be a better fit.”
For three decades, SMART Reading has paired community volunteers with PreK through third-grade students for in-person, one-on-one reading sessions. The organization also provides students with a collection of 14 new books to keep. “We’re so grateful to our community partners like SELCO for their ongoing support,” says SMART Reading Central Area Director Jennifer Zardinejad. “It’s been a challenging couple of years for kids, and ensuring they have access to high-quality books at home is more important than ever.”
Given the ongoing health precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMART Reading has focused on continuing to get books to students — distributing over 12,000 books to Central Oregon students so far this school year — and has new virtual models for providing reading support for its students.
Recent national studies by Reading Is Fundamental and the Stanford Graduate School of Education show that kids’ progress in reading has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. “This is a huge concern for our community because reading is a gateway skill that opens the door to success in school and beyond,” says Zardinejad. “These studies point to the need for more access to books, reading practice time, motivation around reading, and social-emotional support — all things we provide through our programs and that SELCO helps fund.”
About SMART Reading
SMART Reading is a statewide children’s literacy nonprofit that serves kids in Oregon’s highest need schools with two ingredients critical for literacy and learning success: one-on-one reading time and access to books. We mobilize volunteers to read with PreK through third-grade children, building confidence, literacy skills and a love of reading. Since 1992, we have paired over 146,000 volunteers to read with 250,000 children, and have put 3 million books in the homes of the children we serve.
SMARTReading.org • 877-598-4633
