I am reaching out in search of volunteers for two different volunteer reader opportunities. They require regular time commitment throughout the upcoming school year, but you don’t need any experience to participate and they are a great way to make a lasting impact in a child’s life. A volunteer who participated last year shared:
"I loved volunteering at East End School and chose to help three first grade students every week after starting with one student. The eagerness, energy, humor, honesty, and enthusiasm that these students brought to our sessions was contagious and joyful. The students told me that our time together was their favorite day of the week, so that felt good as a volunteer! One boy who struggled to read at first jumped multiple levels during our time together, became dramatically more fluid at reading out loud, and told me at the end of the year that he just loves reading."
The first opportunity is with elementary school students:
Volunteers will visit a school each week to read with students for one hour to promote literacy. These sessions might be one-on-one, with small groups, or a whole class, depending on the needs of the school. There are multiple school sites to choose from and you can share your location preference. Volunteers must attend a one-hour training in September and will start working with students in October and continue through June. Training date is TBD. Speakers of non-English languages are welcome! Visit uwsme.org/reader to sign up.
The second volunteer opportunity is with the youngest of learners:
Biddeford Ready! hosts a weekly Story Hour at their Biddeford Hub for children ages 0-5 and their families. It will be every Friday from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. We are looking for multiple volunteers to create a rotating schedule (such as, being the reader the first week of each month). You will have help planning and running the group. Please email Hannah Brier (hbrier@uwsme.org) directly if you are interested.
