The Greenwich United Way’s Reading Champions program completed its 16th year of literacy support, helping improve reading fluency among Greenwich elementary students. A committed partner to Greenwich Public Schools (GPS), Reading Champions is the largest volunteer-driven early literacy program in town. In the 2023-2024 school year, 120 volunteers supported 350 students with one-on-one tutoring sessions in all 11 Greenwich Public Schools and five after-school programs.
Reading Champions further differentiated its literacy support this year based on feedback from GPS and after-school community partners. Beyond delivering fluency support, volunteers provided even more students with “Read Alouds,” sessions that help further motivate participation. The aim is to help these early readers develop better contextual understanding of text from making predictions and understanding main ideas and characters. This engagement has the long-term benefit of greater student comprehension, enhancing the ability to share their growing knowledge in the classroom for years to come.
This summer Reading Champions Read Alouds will launch at the YMCA camp, with the focus on helping prevent the summer slide. For the full eight-week camp, Reading Champions volunteers will support campers from pre-K through 1st grade; volunteers will engage them with interactive small group Read Alouds paired with activities that tie into Summer Olympics and sports. The fun win-win partnership will help make literacy memorable for very early readers.
Two additional Reading Champions sites will debut in Fall 2024 with the YWCA after-school program and the Family First program at New Lebanon School, where evening sessions will serve students of families learning English as a second language.
“The impact of Greenwich United Way’s Reading Champions on the lives of our students is immeasurable, helping foster remarkable academic achievements and critical social interactions. Greenwich Public Schools depend on amazing relationships with our community partners, supporting children in our community in critical areas of their development,” said Dr. Toni Jones, Superintendent for Greenwich Public Schools.
“Reading Champions is part of a larger vision for the Greenwich United Way to help close the Early Education Achievement Gap, enabling all students to have greater opportunity to succeed, said David Rabin, CEO of the Greenwich United Way. “On the volunteer side, for those in Greenwich looking to give of their time and talent for worthy causes, Reading Champions provides rewarding, fulfilling work that directly impacts students’ long-term academic potential.”
In a typical school year, Reading Champions provides more than 15,000 moments of direct impact between volunteer tutors and elementary students. The results are far reaching, including motivating greater reading fluency and inspiring academic confidence to ultimately impact greater student success in the classroom for years to come. The program was founded in 2008 by retired Greenwich Public School teacher and guidance counselor Joan Lowe, who recognized the need for one-on-one literacy programs. With the support of the Greenwich United Way, Lowe developed the program that enables volunteers to teach students how to read and comprehend in ways best suited to their learning styles. Since then, Reading Champions has provided one-on-one and small group reading instruction and tutoring to thousands of Greenwich Public School elementary students.
Reading Champions thoroughly vets all candidates and provides them with the necessary skills and preparation to provide dedicated reading support, fostering literacy skills and a love of learning in students. Interested volunteers can contact Greenwich United Way program manager Cecile Meunier at cmeunier@GreenwichUnitedWay.org or 203-869-2221.
About Greenwich United Way
The Greenwich United Way (GUW) is a privately incorporated, locally governed, non-profit agency. It shares its mission as one of more than 1,100 United Way chapters around the world. A volunteer-driven organization, the Greenwich United Way exists to help identify and address the health, educational and self-sufficiency needs specific to the local community and to create and affect meaningful, lasting solutions. Through various fundraising efforts and ongoing research, the organization directly grants the funds necessary to accomplish this goal. The Greenwich United Way also invests in and conducts collaborative efforts to address broad-based community needs with partnering nonprofit agencies. For more information, visit greenwichunitedway.org or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
