News & Events
United Way Day of Action
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ReadingPals, a United Way initiative, helps pairs of children build vocabulary and other literacy skills by reading high quality books and engaging them in interactive learning. It takes 12 years to create a student who graduates, or drops out. Research shows that reading, the single most important skill for learning, is the building block for a lifetime of academic success, improving students’ on-time grade promotion and increasing high school graduation rates. The benefits from high-quality early childhood programs are not only academic. With 90 percent of brain development occurring during the first five years of life, early learning experiences set the foundation for lifelong success. Through the third grade children are learning to read, after that they are reading to learn, making assistance early critical.
We are hoping that our 2012 Day of Action will be an opportunity to recruit 300 readers for the 2012-2013 school year to help in Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten classes and United Way-certified Success By 6 early learning centers. Just 30 minutes two times a week will help get children ready to learn when they enter first grade. Signing up to become a ReadingPal takes no time to make a huge difference. During our Day of Action, we encourage you to complete our online signup or call 904-390-3255.
Since the 2012 Day of Action is entirely virtual, we rely heavily on social media to hear about the steps you have taken to increase literacy, support education or make a difference in your community. Share your stories and experiences with us and others on Twitter or Facebook. For those using Twitter, United Way has a special hashtag for the 2012 Day of Action campaign: #iamthechange and #liveunited. Please tweet telling us about your efforts, ending it with our hashtag. For example:
- I signed up as a volunteer with ReadingPals. #iamthechange #liveunited
For those on Facebook, there are multiple ways you can share. You can post directly to United Way of Northeast Florida’s page. You can also post your own status update and tag us in it. If you have pictures from the event, you can post them on our wall or host your own album and tag us in it! Any of these methods would allow others browsing our page to see and comment on the great things you’ve done and plan to do as a volunteer with ReadingPals.
