Volunteer Reading Program Encourages Literacy at School With Title 1 Program

Goodwill’s Good Readers Program to Improve Academic Achievement of Disadvantaged Students

Volunteers for Goodwill Manasota’s Good Readers, a program that encourages literacy, will read and present books to students at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 30 at Alta Vista Elementary School.

This program’s mission is to engage students and help develop a love for reading while improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged. Ninety-four percent of Alta Vista Elementary students are living in households that are below the poverty line, and the Good Readers program can provide additional support and assistance.

“Strong literacy skills are closely linked to the probability of having a good job, decent earnings and access to training opportunities,” said Bob Rosinsky, president and CEO of Goodwill Manasota. “It is the greatest weapon in the ongoing struggle between success and failure – between economic vitality and prosperity.”

Research has shown that reading is the single most important activity for literacy development and critically linked to children’s later success. Unfortunately, poverty and literacy are closely connected and parents raising children in poverty are less likely to buy or have access to books and more likely to have limited literacy skills themselves.   

“Education has always been a focus for us,” said Rosinsky. “With this program, we are reaching out to educationally at-risk students to provide help to those who need it most.”

Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA), provides financial assistance to schools with a high number of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

Goodwill provides employees with numerous educational benefits, such as literacy tutoring with the Literacy Council, ESOL classes, GED classes, high school diplomas for anyone who has a disability as part of the Workforce Education Pilot, tuition reimbursement, college classes in Social Enterprise Management and leadership development and more.

Good Readers Program:

Date         Friday, May 30

Time        10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Venue    Alta Vista Elementary School, a Title 1 school with 94 percent of their students living in households below the poverty line.

About Goodwill Manasota

Goodwill Manasota is an industry-leading, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that changes lives through the power of work. With the sales of donated goods and philanthropic donations, Goodwill is able to assist people with disabilities and other barriers to employment by providing job skills training and employment opportunities. In 2013, we served more than 16,000 people, placed 537 people in jobs and assisted 329 veterans as they reintegrated back into the civilian workforce. Goodwill Manasota’s economic impact back to the community is worth $39.3 million.  We accomplish our mission through a network of Good Neighbor Centers in Sarasota, Manatee, Hardee and DeSoto counties and our Mission Development Services (MDS) around North America.  Goodwill has provided opportunities through such programs as Donated Goods Employment Services, Job Connection, American Veterans & their Families Initiative, JobsPlus, Supported JobsPlus, GoodwillWorks, White Glove Services, Good Neighbor Program and Ambassadors Program. Goodwill is one of the pioneers of the reduce-reuse-recycle movement and this past year diverted 37 million pounds out of the landfill.  Goodwill Manasota is legally organized under the laws of the United States and the State of Florida. We are accountable to a local Board of Directors. Goodwill Manasota in essence belongs to this community, and is NOT owned by any individual or company. For more information, visit EXPERIENCEGOODWILL.ORG.