Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe is thrilled and honored to announce that we are the recipients of a $40K capacity-building grant from the WNC Bridge Foundation. Awarded in late 2019, this grant was one of 44 (totaling a whopping $3,341,836) given out as part of WNC Bridge Foundation’s Impact Grant Program.

One of the focuses of the 2019 Impact Grant Program centered on youth development and supporting the community partners in WNC who have identified and taken action to address key challenges facing our local youth. As a 9-year-old nonprofit with a record for fighting the literacy achievement gap in our local schools, Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe recognizes the critical need for more one-to-one reading tutoring with our K-3 students.

For children, the defining line of literacy achievement falls at the end of 3rd grade. Why? Well, research shows children who aren't reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade are 4x more likely to drop out of school. And as many educators will tell you, through third grade, you learn to read, after third grade, you read to learn.

With these additional resources from the WNC Bridge Foundation, Read to Succeed will be able to grow its mission of serving more students in our Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools, and work towards closing the literacy achievement gap. We will harness the power of increased outreach and communications to recruit more volunteers to be reading tutors as well as identify more donors and community partners to support our training efforts.

It's easy to take reading for granted, but there is a multitude of reasons why we shouldn't. Reading is a critical path to both academic success as well as life success. Everything from education to health to employment to financial well-being and civic participation relies in part on one's ability to read.

*Stark statistics reveal the true impact of illiteracy:

• Kids who aren't reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade or 4x more likely to drop out of school
• 85% of juvenile offenders and 60% of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate
• 3 out of 4 people on welfare have difficulty reading
• The costs of health illiteracy, or the inability to access, understand, and use health-related information to prevent illness, to treat and manage health conditions, and to reduce the risk of injury is estimated at $106 to $236 billion annually.
  
  

The horizon of literacy achievement is bright though. Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe has shown that one-to-one reading tutoring with young elementary students can make a significant impact on their ability to read at grade level. Plus, learning to read helps foster a love of reading that students will carry with them throughout their lives.

Passionate, dedicated volunteers paired with high-quality training, comprehensive learning resources, and ongoing support makes the work we do possible. In the 2018 - 2019 school year alone, the 220+ students we tutored gained, on average, over 4.5 reading levels!

As more and more students achieve grade-level reading, new doors open to them to a future that was up until now, out of reach. Thanks to the WNC Bridge Foundation for reinforcing our commitment to closing the literacy achievement gap.

Interested in getting involved with Read to Succeed's mission to inspire and teach kids to read? Click here to learn more.

*References:

• https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2014/07/09/08/00/health-literacy-confronting-a-national-public-health-problem
• https://www.literacyprojectfoundation.org/
• http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/11/18/75-of-inmates-are-illiterate-19-are-completely-illiterate-ruben-rosario/
• https://observer.com/2017/07/prison-illiteracy-criminal-justice-reform/
  
  

As our small but mighty nonprofit continues to grow, we are taking steps to enhance our online presence so we can reach more people with our message about inspiring and teaching kids to read. We are proud to announce that we now have a LinkedIn page which you can follow (and add to the Volunteer experience on your profile).

Visit our Read to Succeed page on LinkedIn and click the blue +Follow button to join our community and ensure you see our updates and posts in your feed.

If you have previously volunteered or are currently volunteering with Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe, please consider adding us to the Volunteer Experience section of your LinkedIn Profile.

Follow these steps:
1) Go to your personal LinkedIn profile page and click the blue “Add Profile Section” button to the right of your profile picture.
2) Click the + button beside Volunteer Experience.
3) Under Organization, type Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe and select it from the list. Add the rest of your information like Role, Time Serving, Cause (Education probably fits best).

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Please follow our pages, and like and share our content when you see it in your feed. Thank you!

Looking for a special way to spend your Leap Day this year? Head on down to the Crowne Plaza Resort for the 3rd Annual Volunteer Expo brought to you by The Junior League of Asheville.

This vibrant event is modeled after a job fair and features over 70 nonprofits with representatives at booths, chock full of helpful information for people looking to volunteer in the community. And the best part? It's totally FREE!

You'll find area nonprofits from practically every community sector addressing issues including health, poverty, legal aid, environmental stewardship, women's issues, arts, civic leadership, technology, education, animal welfare. To learn more about the event and what to expect, visit the JLA Facebook event page HERE.

Our very own volunteer coordinator, Julie Claywell, will be present with a handful of volunteers at the Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe table at the expo, so please stop by and say hi! And don't forget to spread the word - the Volunteer Expo is one of the best ways to learn about the various organizations working hard to make a positive impact in our WNC communities. Hope to see you there!