Since 2004, the nonprofit Read With Me Volunteer Programs has inspired and helped under-resourced children from low-income communities, and now it too needs a hand.
More than 100 volunteers are needed to fill the gap at all the elementary schools served by Read With Me. The program is seeking fully vaccinated volunteers who will donate one to two hours a week for one-on-one mentoring or work with small groups for eight weeks or more. Most of these volunteers are needed for Oasis School in Thermal, Mountain Vista School in Indio as well as Sea View by the Salton Sea.
“Read With Me is an amazing organization that has a proven track record of recruiting, training and transporting senior volunteers,” Bruce Titcomb, volunteer coordinator at John Kelley Elementary, said in a press release. “As a Read With Me volunteer, I have witnessed first-hand how these skilled volunteers have dramatically improved the lives and reading abilities of young students in the Valley.”
Roberta and Clay Klein started Read With Me Volunteer Programs (RWMVP) after realizing a need to assist local children with minimal exposure to English, a news release from RWMVP said. Through the program, men and women volunteers help children in kindergarten through grade six develop to their fullest potential by learning to read, comprehend and speak English. The concept is simple but successful: Students read to a volunteer while the volunteer asks questions to aid with pronunciation and comprehension.
From the Kleins' first initiative to spread reading skills, the program has expanded to include 17 schools representing the Coachella Valley, Tahoe and Reno, and in 2015 Cathedral City Elementary School (CCES) in the Palm Springs Unified School District joined the volunteer program, according to the release. At that time, six people stepped up to aid teachers and tutor students.
The student population at CCES is 91% Hispanic or Latino, 99% are socioeconomically disadvantaged and 44% are learning English. Recent studies have shown that when students work with RWMVP volunteers, reading test scores are approximately 50% higher than those students who did not have the extra help, the release said.
During the second year operating at CCES, the program doubled from the original six volunteers to 13 volunteers, and in 2019, the program grew to 72 volunteers. When COVID-19 hit, RWMVP volunteers were not allowed on the school campus, but after a two-year hiatus they've been welcomed back, the release said.
The preponderance of volunteers needed right now is for Oasis school in Thermal (bus leaves from Costco parking lot in La Quinta Tuesday and Thursday 8 am. And for Mountain Vista School in Indio as well as SeaView by the Salton Sea ( bus would be available from Indio).
Interested individuals can visit readwithmevolunteers.com for more information, or contact Rachel Luiz, administrator and regional volunteer coordinator, at 818-427-8129 or readwithmerachel@gmail.com.