The United Way of Central Indiana has been a long-standing social impact organization, serving across seven counties: Boone, Hancock, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan and Putnam.
In addition to helping more than 220,000 households who are one emergency away from poverty, United Way creates programs to serve seniors, parents and children.
Its program, ReadUP, has been serving youth for 16 years and supporting school systems in Indiana to improve reading levels.
“We open registration for volunteers every August and still have spots open in some areas,” said Julie Kilger, United Way K-12 Initiatives senior manager. “We’re asking for 500 volunteers but could take more. Our constraints aren’t the schools or the need, it’s for volunteers. Prior to the pandemic, we had 700 volunteers and last year we had 275, so it’s going to take a few years to get back to where we were.”
Not only has third grade proven pivotal in students’ reading, the pandemic has set some students even further behind.
“Prior to the third grade, they are learning mechanics. After the third grade, they start applying literacy skills to all other content areas,” Kilger explained. “We’ve identified third grade as that time where schools need to be supported and students need this extra intervention.”
Students in third grade today were in kindergarten when the pandemic caused country-wide shutdowns, e-learning programs and a significant shortage in class time and education, making the ReadUP program even more important this year.
Volunteers simply sign up for a school, day and time that works for them and read with two students for 30 minutes once per week.
Each school has a coordinator or reading specialist to assist with questions or work with challenges and support both the student and the volunteer.
Most importantly, the program works.
“Last year, we began with 87 percent of students behind at least one grade level and saw 60 percent of those students grow by four or more reading levels over the course of the year,” Kilger said.
Students are receiving that much needed one on one time, but the volunteers may be surprised how the program impacts them as well.
“We’ve had volunteers who have been doing this for over a decade,” Kilger said. “Community service is gratifying in general, but with ReadUP, you get to see the impact and results right in front of you. You’re with the same student all year and watch them grow, not just in reading ability, but in confidence and pride in themselves.”
Volunteer registration will be open through the end of 2022 and will re-open in August 2023.
If reading with a student doesn’t pique your interest, there are other ways to support the ReadUP program.
For the second annual United Way Care-oke event, vote for your favorite Care-oke singer at a special performance, benefiting ReadUP. The eent begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St., Indianapolis. Guests can purchase tickets to attend in person or view the livestream from home.
Visit the website at https://www.uwci.org for volunteer opportunities and information on the upcoming Care-oke event.
Also, mark your calendar for June 23, 2023, for the annual Go ALL IN Day, to give back to others and earn funds for United Way.
Read More: United Way continues to recruit volunteers for ReadUP program | News