To celebrate March is Reading Month, United Way of Midland County is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region, inviting volunteers to join them on March 19th to read with third-grade students at Plymouth Elementary. 60 volunteers are needed and will be paired with students to help instill a love of reading, improve literacy skills and build healthy relationships.
“We were thrilled to be hosting March is Reading Month again this year,” shared Megan Crockett, Volunteer Manager at United Way of Midland County. “Literacy is an issue area that United Way invests in to help young people in our community gain the competencies needed to excel in life. Grade-level reading competency is critical to the success of our students and we are proud to be lending a hand in the classrooms. This event allows us to instill a love of reading while connecting students with a group of caring adult mentors.”
United Way is in need of 60 volunteers to join them at this upcoming event. Those interested can sign up to volunteer at volunteerglbr.org. All volunteers will be required to complete a background check at Plymouth Elementary prior to the event or day of.
“Midland Public Schools’ partnership with United Way has a profound impact on our students,” shared Margaret Doan, Principal and Plymouth Elementary School. “During March is Reading Month, this group goes above and beyond to create meaningful community connections for our students and inspire a love of reading by providing each student with a high-interest book. Our students are thrilled to share their excitement for beloved characters or popular book series with new people. When Plymouth has participated in this event in the past, students have often recalled it as a highlight of their elementary years.”
Under their Youth Opportunity pillar, United Way focuses on helping kids build Literacy Skills. In Midland County, over 50% of third-grade students are not reading at grade level and they are 75% more likely to not graduate from high school if they don’t catch up. In collaboration with their partner agencies and schools, United Way is striving to change those statistics. Through this community event, volunteers will impact United Way’s goal of ensuring students are reading proficiently by third grade while offering each student a positive adult mentor to connect with during the event.
United Way would like to thank their event sponsors Sleepy Dog Books Foundation and Members First Credit Union. Their sponsorship not only provided a pizza lunch for volunteers and students, but more importantly a brand-new book, My Weird School by Dan Gutman, for each student to take home.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities within the community visit volunteerglbr.org or reach out to Megan Crockett at megan@unitedwaymidland.org.
