Yonkers Rotary members and volunteers from other community organizations have been at the Riverfront Library in downtown Yonkers to participate in the JCY-Westchester Community Partners-sponsored Summer Reading Buddies program.
The program’s theme this year is “Reading Rocks.” It runs for six weeks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July and August at the Riverfront Library and at the Mount Vernon Public library. Riverfront Library Administrator and club member Sandy Amoyaw said more than 250 volunteers will be reading with more than 1100 children.
Rotary Club President Sundra Lee-Ingemanson, Past District Governors Greg Arcaro and Matts Ingemanson, district governor nominee and Past President Mahbub Ahmad, and Club Rotary Foundation Chairperson Bina Ahmad represented the club by reading to the kids..
There have also already been visits from well-known guest readers, including Mayor Mike Spano, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators the Hon. Benjamin Boyton, Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada and City Council President Mike Khader, among others, as well as members of Con Edison, which is a sponsor of the summer Reading Buddies program.
The Reading Buddies program is a valuable and valued inter-generational initiative that helps youngsters improve their reading skills and supports parents with guidance and life skills. Volunteers are paired with children in kindergarten through grade six who go to the library for help with their summer reading list, assigned by their school.
Volunteers work with several children during each two-hour session. The children select a book and then are matched up with a volunteer. After introductions, the “buddies” find a spot where they work together for 20 minutes. The volunteers encourage the student to read, and help with specific words, pronunciation and comprehension. When they finish the book, the volunteers help the child complete a worksheet.
While the children are reading, their parents attend workshops on life skills offered through partner organizations.
The program has been a success at both locations and is highly anticipated every year, as evidenced by the long lines of parents and children waiting for the library to open Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
The libraries give out “passports” to every child who registers for Summer Reading Buddies, and each child gets a stamp on his or her passport for each day attended.
The primary sponsor of the program is JCY-Westchester Community Partners, whose mission is to enhance the educational experience of children in Westchester County through effective learning initiatives and the engagement of volunteer mentors. The Yonkers libraries provide the venue, the reading materials and supervision.
The Rotary Club of Yonkers-East Yonkers has been a reading partner of this program for a number of years.
“Summer Reading Buddies” exists to counteract what educators call the “summer slide” among children and students – where kids often regress in their reading skills during the summer months, unless they continue to read during the vacation period.
All sessions run from 10 a.m. to noon.
In addition to Summer Reading Buddies, JCY-Westchester Community Partners runs many programs at schools in Westchester County during the school year. Participants are matched with a child with whom you will develop a mentoring relationship over the course of the school year, and the commitment is only one hour per week. Programs run at schools in Yonkers, White Plains, Mount Vernon, Elmsford, Greenburg and Ossining.
Experience the exciting environment of helping kids grow in their reading capabilities and their self-confidence, and receive orientation and training that enable you to maximize your effectiveness with the children you mentor. You may also make some friends among the other mentors or parents.
And if you’re 55 or over, you may wish to register as a member of RSVP of Westchester, a volunteer organization with which JCY-Westchester Community Partners is affiliated. RSVP provides many benefits to its members.
To learn more about JCY-Westchester Community Partners’ programs and to become a volunteer mentor, contact Madeline Finesmith, communications director, at 914-423-5009 or mfinesmith@jcy-wcp.com.
