Providing Remote Reading Help and Diverse Books for K-5th Grade Students
The United States in the midst of a literacy crisis, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic from 2020 – 2022.
Pre-pandemic literacy rates in African-American, Hispanic and Indigenous communities were already low, sometimes as low as 30-40% (the percentage 3rd graders who were reading at or above a 3rd grade level). In our 2022 post-pandemic work, literacy statistics are even more troubling. In many schools across the country literacy rates in BIPOC communities are currently between 15% - 25% rage. Said differently, 75% - 85% of the students are reading below grade level. Truly heartbreaking.
Our Kids Read seeks to match mentors (our “Reading Buddies”) with children behind in their reading. Our Reading Buddy program allows students a chance to work with a mentor who models strong reading skills, provides an opportunity for students to practice their reading and creates strong mentor-mentee relationships. We use our collection of 400 diverse eBooks during our Zoom-based reading sessions, books selected by the children themselves (all featuring positive African-American, Latinx and Indigenous characters).
our mission
Expanding perspectives
Our Kids Read book donations feature stories from a variety of cultures: Native-American/Indigenous, African-American, LatinX, Southeast Asian and more. Our hope is that through exposure to various cultures, the children we serve will grow up to be open-minded and tolerant adults.
Developing self-esteem
Books have, at times, been described as a window into a new world or as a mirror of ourselves. Our Kids Read donates books that serve in both capacities: for children not represented by the books that we donate, the books serve as a window into a different world. For people of color, our books serve as a mirror and affirmation of identity and self.
Fostering a sense of belonging
Our Kids Read donations foster a sense of belonging by showing children that people that look like them have done (and continue) to do amazing things. Feeling like you are part of a powerful positive global community is a natural offshoot of representation. Seeing onself (or images similar to oneself) represented in a positive way in books in a universal conscious and subconscious affirmation.
Connecting Reading Buddies with Students
The Our Kids Read Reading Buddy program matches students in under-served communities with blue and white collar professionals, retirees and high school students looking to meet their community service hours requirement. Reading Buddies read to their mentees once, twice or three times per week via Zoom. The eBooks we read with our students are all selected by *them* and all feature African-American, Hispanic and Indigenous characters. Reading Buddies sign-up for an 8-week session in the spring, summer, fall or winter (although most of our Reading Buddies sign-up for multiple sessions after experiencing how much fun it is to read with a child!).
our approach
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Working with Schools
Our Kids Read reaches out every month to schools and school districts across the United States to offer free diverse books and free remote reading services. We offer the schools access to thousands of diverse books to choose from, for reading levels pre-K through 5th grade. Our Reading Buddy program is offered to students in our partner schools for children in grades K-5th grade.
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Reaching Communities
We recognize that there are unique challenges facing each community we work in. Rather than applying a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a new school or community, we reach out to organizations, teachers and administrators to understand what programs have been tried before, what’s worked and what hasn’t worked. We then tailor both our book donation catalog and our Remote Reading Buddies program to the unique needs of the community we aim to serve.
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Maximizing Donations
Our Kids Read is a 100% volunteer organization. That means we can ensure that 91 cents out of every dollar we receive goes directly to the book donation and literacy programs we support. We keep our overhead low to maximize our donor's impact.
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Schools in Our Kids Read Network
Our Kids Read provides our kids both with books to take home with them, which is crucial in our school as we work with primarily low-income students, largely children of color. Both the books that Our Kids Read donated to our school library and the take home books are of immeasurable value to the children's growth and development.
- Educator, Our Kids Read Partner School42 books
AUGUST 17, 2021
Gornam Crossing Elementary
Laurel, MD
46 books
Octover 20, 2021
Holy Innocents Episcopal School
Atlanta, GA
40 books
November 2, 2021
For Love Of Children Book Fair
Washington, D.C
91%
of proceeds go directly to schools
Our Kids Read provides our kids both with books to take home with them, which is crucial in our school as we work with primarily low-income students, largely children of color. Both the books that Our Kids Read donated to our school library and the take home books are of immeasurable value to the children's growth and development.
- Educator, Our Kids Read Partner Schooldonate
Make a Dollar Donation
Donate a book, a classroom full of books or just a few dollars to support diversity in your local schools. As Our Kids Read is 100% volunteer funded, 91 cents out of every dollar goes to the book giving program.
Donate Diverse Books
Have gently used diverse books you'd like to donate to a child in our schools? We will send you a postage paid self-addressed media mailer for you to send the book to the Our Kids Read sorting depot for sterilization and distribution.
our team
