There are five pillars that make up the foundation of Detroit: work, play, live, lead and give. The give pillar applies to volunteering and community service. Fellows volunteer with project partners like MACC Sports and Forgotten Harvest, after work at events like our Mariners Inn Game Show Night, and independently each month.

I chose to volunteer with an organization called Read to a Child, because there is a nation wide literacy problem. Many of my students last year struggled to read at their grade level and many were reading at far lower levels that expected. In fact, 83% of fourth graders from low-income families are not proficient in reading (Read to a Child, 2010 Report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation).

I love reading and always have. When I was younger, I would read books in the car, at restaurants, and even at the grocery store… (A family friend was once in Giant Eagle and found a book in the cart from the library and knew it had to be mine). The library was my favorite place to go; I loved the one at school and I begged my parents to take me to the public library in town multiple times a week for even more reading material. When the online library became popular and you could place a book on hold and have it sent to the closest branch, I once requested 50 books and they all came in at the same time.

“Read to a Child is a national nonprofit literacy and mentoring organization that inspires caring adults to read aloud to at-risk children to create better opportunities for their future. Research proves that reading aloud to children is the single most important activity for enabling eventual success in reading, and therefore, likelihood for success in school and life. Read to a Child’s Lunchtime Reading Program utilizes 1,500 volunteers from more than 100 corporations nationwide who read aloud to 1,200 at-risk elementary school students in greater Boston, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, and Miami” (Read to a Child).

Every week, I go to an elementary school in Detroit over my lunch hour and read to the same student. I have already seen an increase in his comprehension and vocabulary, which will directly translate into improvements when he reads on his own or in class. We’re about to finish reading Summer of the Sea Serpent from the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborn. It’s the first chapter book my student has ever read, and at first he struggled to imagine the story without pictures, but as we went on he was able to visualize and even make predictions for chapters ahead.

Each week, I look forward to meeting with my student and having our lunchtime reading session. If you’re intrigued by my volunteer experience or want to learn more about Read to a Child, check out their website! I also encourage you to ask fellows about the volunteer experiences they’ve had throughout the year.

My student made me a gingerbread house before holiday break!