literacy

During the summer and away from the classroom, students tend to take a break from books and retreat into a more relaxed approach to life.  While summer is a time for students to recharge and refuel in preparation for the upcoming school year, the break they take from reading can be detrimental. Unfortunately, the gap for learning for many young children will significantly widen as the summer months pass. Consider these facts from Serve.org:

“Children who are not engaged in learning between school years suffer from “summer learning loss.” Many of the achievement gaps that continue to exist for disadvantaged students today result not from students falling behind during the school year but rather losing out on chances to learn over the summer.

Did you know that if a young person reads only five books over the summer, the effect “is potentially large enough to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall?” footnote 1

Did you know that if a young person is read to at least three times a week, that person is twice as likely to score in the top 25% of reading?” footnote 2

Commit yourself and a team of your friends, family, and neighbors to help young people close the summer learning gap by joining United We Serve. This tool kit will give you the basics to start a reading program from scratch, recruit a team, organize your group, and make an impact.

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Getting Started

While no two projects will be the same, successful projects will share a few common practices. We encourage you to incorporate the following elements into your service project:

  • Create a team with your friends and neighbors to share the effort;
  • Set outcome-based goals and track your progress to those goals;
  • Celebrate your successes together.

The Challenge: Many community-based organizations do not have enough capacity to manage a large number of volunteers, so they need you to organize yourself in coordination with them.  This tool kit is designed to either help you organize a group and be a positive addition to a community-based organization, or, if such an organization does not exist, to be a well-organized independently-run group that fills a needed gap in the community.

A step by step guide to getting started and executing service activities follows.  Please let us know how your project goes and what you learn by telling your story at Serve.gov.

Step One: Identify Local Partners

Check out the organizations already doing good work in your area. Many existing service groups have identified community needs and built the expertise to provide solutions. Every reading volunteer can contact the local library to plug in with a summer reading program.

  • CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY OR Click here to search for national and local literacy organizations.
  • Get a guide to finding local partners.
  • If no literacy organizations exist in your community, contact local child care centers, libraries, summer camps to begin a reading club.

Step Two: Build a Team

Teams can help share the work, motivate members and hold each other accountable. Teams build community. Ask your family, friends, colleagues, faith group members, book club devotees to serve with you.

Step Three: Set Goals

Set a service goal and hold yourself accountable. Commit as individuals and as a team to reading a certain number of times each week to children. Set your goals high to stretch yourself.  Then keep track of how you are doing and designate someone to be responsible for updating the group on how you are progressing toward your goals.  You’ll be surprised at how much you can do when you commit, focus, and follow through.

Step Four: SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY

The key to effective service is planning. Organize your materials, make confirmation calls and, if you have time, read supplemental materials before you volunteer.

Step Five: Report and Celebrate Successes

Your team members, the community, and the President want to know about your successes and hear your stories.  Share your accomplishments by reporting your results. We will highlight the best stories throughout the year. Tell us about your successes and what you have learned, or just tell your story of service at Serve.gov.