We know that over their lifetimes, high school graduates earn 74 percent more than those who drop out. And, when a student graduates from college, that number goes up to 84 percent.
If our students don’t have a solid educational foundation and strong reading skills, how will they make it to graduation?
United Way of Greater Houston is committed to helping our kids succeed in school — and in life. Through innovative work to improve academic success, United Way is preparing students for education beyond high school, to compete in the workforce, and to lead our community into the future.
One of the many ways United Way is improving academic success is by putting books into the hands of children who may not have access to reading material.
In middle-income neighborhoods the ratio of age-appropriate books per child is 13 to 1 — that’s 13 books to every one child — while in low-income neighborhoods the ratio is one book for every 300 children.
If our students don’t have a solid educational foundation and strong reading skills, how will they make it to graduation?
In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America Day on March 2, United Way encourages you to help make sure kids in our community have plenty of books to read. With just a few clicks, you can launch your own personal campaign to provide books for United Way’s summer reading clubs. Then, spread the word and ask your friends, family and colleagues to support your campaign by March 31.
Here’s what your support can do:
A gift of $20 can support a summer's worth of reading material for one student in a book club.
A gift of $50 can provide books, snacks and literacy activities for one student in the summer.
A gift of $250 can support a summer book club for 10 students.
Last summer, more than United Way 100 reading clubs engaged more than 900 Houston-area students in reading out of school. One of those book clubs found unique ways to get students excited about reading. The club developed games of charades to get familiar with the characters and storyline of the book they were reading.
Their final project was to create a rap that summarized the book, an idea the students came up with themselves. The students had fun creating the raps and the raps helped cement the students’ understanding of the book.
Summer reading clubs are just one of the ways United Way is making reading a priority among our kids. In elementary schools throughout our community, United Way Reading Together matches second graders with corporate and community volunteers to ensure that students are reading proficiently by the time they enter fourth grade, a key indicator of future success. And, United Way’s peer-to-peer tutoring program trains academically-borderline students to tutor students who are behind in reading, with both students building critical skills, confidence and a deeper connection to school.
This year, members of United Way's newest donor group, United Way LINC, built, painted and filled Tiny Libraries with children's books to help provide increased access to books. The whimsical structures, resembling giant birdhouses, each contain about 50 books and serve as lending libraries for children who may not otherwise have access to books. They are housed at various United Way agencies and United Way Reading Together partner schools around our community.
Books can inform, inspire and encourage children to imagine worlds beyond what they know. And, strong reading skills lead to success in school — and in life.
Set up your own campaign today to help provide books for United Way’s summer reading clubs and be the one to help kids in our community succeed.
Kiki, a 3rd grader at Bruce Elementary and an United Way of Greater Houston Reading Together alum, celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading.
