mind-a-la

I absolutely love to read.  To me, there is nothing better than spending a lazy Sunday morning curled up on a comfortable couch with a warm blanket and a new book.  I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on – Highlights magazines, R.L. Stine and Matt Christopher books, the Dallas Morning News, my parent’s Reader’s Digests…  My favorite store in the world is still Half Price Books (www.halfpricebooks.com) near NorthPark Mall in Dallas (love!). 

When I switched careers a few years ago, I became good friends with a colleague who had previously participated in the Teach for America program in Atlanta.  Her stories absolutely blew my mind, particularly regarding how many of her students could not read.  Public schools were just fine in North Dallas – I had no idea how terrible some of them are here and throughout neighboring states.  It was truly shocking to hear her speak about her classroom experiences at a local Fulton County elementary school.

I was motivated to do something, but my career path could not be any further away from education.  Since literacy has always been a hot button issue for me, I was thrilled to hear that I could volunteer through my company for the Everybody Wins! Power Lunch Reading Program at a local elementary school near the Georgia Dome.  I’ve now been a Reading Mentor for third graders for three years running.  I think Everybody Wins! is an excellent organization with an important mission – and more people should know about it.  So, here we go…  

Here’s the Q+DD on Everybody Wins!:

Everybody Wins! Atlanta, a local affiliate of the Everybody Wins! national non-profit organization (find a program in your city: http://bit.ly/4lrsV6), is dedicated to promoting children’s literacy through shared reading experiences with caring individuals.  Their mission is to reach students while they are young, stimulate a love for reading and develop the reading skills needed to succeed in school and in life.  Studies have shown that the single most important activity required for building eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.  Everybody Wins! Power Lunch pairs students who are at-risk for academic failure with volunteers from businesses and organizations to read together one-on-one each week during the school year.  Simply reading with the same student all year, a child experiences the joy of reading, as well as the remarkable benefits of sustained, individual attention by a caring adult.  These lunchtime experiences are proven to improve children’s attitudes toward and interest in reading.

The program operates in Title 1 schools at no cost to participating schools and students.  EW! recruits and trains volunteers to be Power Lunch Reading Mentors and manages program administration.  Everybody Wins! Atlanta seeks to serve a geographically, culturally and socio-economically diverse population, but primarily targets at-risk children whose needs are the greatest.  

What Is Power Lunch?

Power Lunch is a lunchtime literacy and mentoring program in which elementary school students are matched one-on-one with caring volunteers.  Volunteer mentors promote reading for pleasure by reading aloud with the students and providing positive support and encouragement as an informal mentor.

Primary Objectives of Power Lunch Are:

- Improve student’s interest in and attitudes toward reading.
- Advance their reading-related skills (e.g. vocabulary, listening and comprehension).
- Expand children’s opportunities for academic success.
- Build children’s self-esteem and confidence.

By engaging volunteers in this simple activity, Everybody Wins! Atlanta helps bridge the literacy gap one mentor, one child, one book at a time.

How Power Lunch Works:

- Once a week (or every other week if two people volunteer as a team), volunteers travel to a nearby elementary school, are welcomed by an EW! staff School Coordinator and meet their students in a designated area.
- Students and Reading Mentors then choose a book from the EW! book cart and go to a specified reading area.
- Volunteers commit to Power Lunch for one school year, with the program starting at the end of September and ending the first week of May. 
- Students are identified by their teachers based on academic performance, English spoken as a second languahe or someone who could benefit from a positive, consistent mentoring experience.

How Do I Get Started?

- Visit the www.everybodywins.org website to check a list of participating companies to see if your organization is already a partner.  If it is, you simply complete a Reading Partner Application online and send it in.  EW! will quickly match you with a student.
- If your organization is not listed, let the EW! team know.  You can help introduce your organization to Everybody Wins!  They will respond quickly to help make Power Lunch a part of your week.
- Power Lunch volunteers attend an Orientation Session, usually held at the beginning of the new school year in the fall.  These orientations supply you with the training and information that you need to get started as a Reading Mentor.  From there, you will be matched with a student and your Power Lunch experience begins.

If you are looking for a mentoring or volunteer opportunity, I strongly suggest getting involved with Everybody Wins!  Please contact Terri Beck, Executive Director, at 404.943.0404 or tbeck@everybodywinsatlanta.org for more information.

As Princeton says in Avenue Q, “helping other people out makes you feel FANTASTIC!”

xx, L