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For Immediate Release

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Karen Gardner

Senior Executive Director, ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ Washington, DC

(202) 701-9110ÌýÌý| Ìýkaren.gardner@readingpartners.org

READING PARTNERS WASHINGTON, DC SEEKS TO INSPIRE ‘RESOLUTIONS FOR READING’ DURING NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH

91 students are ready to be matched with volunteer tutors

Washington, D.C. —ÌýJanuary 10, 2018

. kicks off National Mentoring Month with a campaign to match over 91 new students with dedicated volunteers ready to play a supportive role in the lives of children in over 19 elementary schools in Washington, D.C. To generate greater engagement in its city-wide mentoring program, ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ is sharing stories of mentorship from community volunteers, AmeriCorps members, and staff. The campaign is designed to inspire others to makeÌýÌýin the new year by providing students in under-resourced schools with the tutoring and mentorship they need to become proficient readers by the fourth grade.

“As a mentor to a ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ student, I want to have the same impact that my mentor had on me. My top priority is to build our students up into confident learners and to push them to their fullest potential,” Ìý—Erika Brosnihan, community engagement associate and volunteer tutor at ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ Washington, D.C.

´¡Ìý, national nonprofit that mobilizes community volunteers to work one-on-one with struggling readers, ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ serves over 900 students in Washington, D.C. Currently, there are 91 students at 19 local elementary schools still waiting to be matched with tutors. ThroughÌý, ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ is committed to identifying volunteers and other much-needed resources to ensure these and other K-4 students who need reading support develop the skills and confidence they need to be successful in school and life.

According to ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ DC Executive Director Karen Gardner, “Our volunteers are more than just reading partners. They make a lifelong difference for local kids struggling with the basic fundamentals of reading. Through, we are thrilled to engage with the local community to identify more volunteers who will enable at-risk students to become proficient readers and stronger students. “

Becoming a Reading Partner Volunteer

³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ volunteers utilize an easy-to-follow, individualized lesson plan each week in order to meet students at their level and help them make the critical transition from learning to read to reading to learn. ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ provides all of its volunteers with in-person training and on-site support. Interested volunteers can sign upÌýÌýto receive additional information.

To learn more about volunteering with ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥, please emailÌývolunteerDC@readingpartners.orgÌýor callÌý(202) 701-9110.

About ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥

³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. Since its founding, the national nonprofit organization has providedÌý, individualized literacy tutoring to nearly 45,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia. VisitÌýto learn more about ourÌý, or connect with us onÌý,Ìý,, andÌý.

Recently, ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ was recognized as a Best Practice Honoree during the 2017 Library of Congress Literacy Awards. The 2017 awards program honored 15 organizations for outstanding work in the field of literacy and implementation of best practices in literacy promotion.

³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ volunteer tutors work with their students (photo credits: ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥)