Latest news with #LiteracyVolunteers
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Call for volunteers to boost literacy levels in schools
A reading charity based in Nottingham has set a target to place a volunteer in every primary school - as the city and county remain below average in literacy Volunteers, founded in 1996, supports children aged four to 11 with one-to-one reading time during school Jaggard, from the charity, said research showed that children who read for pleasure "will do better" at school, and that this leads to better employment statistics show the percentage of pupils below expected reading, spelling, grammar and punctuation standards in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham has been worse than the England average since at least 2015. Ms Jaggard said five years after the pandemic, which proved "incredibly challenging", the charity now has volunteers in about 90 schools."I think our big focus now is building ourselves back up to what we were pre-Covid and then expanding beyond that."She described literacy across the UK and locally as being in "a bit of a crisis" because of a decline in follows a recent report by the National Literacy Trust, which showed that fewer than one in five children read daily outside of school - the lowest level in two decades."Individual schools are doing an amazing job, they're committed and passionate, but having the time to spend one-to-one with children [to read] is just impossible," she said."Our volunteers go the extra mile, they spend half an hour with the child, they read together, they have a box of resources, and they spend loads of time really getting to know the children." Kate Marusiak, from South Wilford Endowed CofE Primary School, said the scheme was working well for its pupils, and it would be "really fantastic" to extend it to every school."Once you get the right book into children's hands, then actually you can turn around a reluctant reader."I think the relationship that [their school's volunteer] has created with the children is really special. They feel really safe, they feel really happy to get things wrong."It's just a joy to see them giggling or hear them chatting and really see that love of reading develop." 'More volunteers' Ms Jaggard said their target to reach every school in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire would not happen quickly, but that it was "realistic".There are a total of 362 primary schools across both local authority areas, which means the charity is almost 25% towards its goal."We've recently built Bassetlaw back up from losing pretty much every volunteer during Covid, so we're now back in ten schools which is fantastic."It's taking that kind of measuring approach, focussing on the areas that need us most first."She added that to achieve the goal, it required "more volunteers", and to this end the charity had appointed its first ever patron - author and campaigner Jacob Dunne, 33, was jailed in 2011 for manslaughter after he threw a single punch at James Hodgkinson, who died. He was then given help to turn his life around by Mr Hodgkinson's mother, Joan Scourfield, after a restorative justice meeting and has since campaigned against violence alongside Dunne said he struggled at school only read his first book at age of 20, but wants his own two children to have a better added: "We need as many people as possible with some time on their hands that want to have an impact on young children's lives."If you're one of them, then you should reach out and get involved."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
LSB Junior Board awards local nonprofits funding during year-end meeting
The Logansport Savings Bank Junior Board wrapped up the 2024-25 school year Wednesday afternoon by awarding $1,000 checks to the Literacy Volunteers of Cass County and to Our Father's House. The Junior Board is made up of local high school juniors and seniors from Caston, Lewis Cass, Logansport and Pioneer. A requirement for being part of the board is that each member completes 10 hours of community service. The bank pays the students for their time and collects the money into a single fund. The students then choose local non-profits to gift the money to. Each students researches a local organization and gives a presentation on that organization during a board meeting. Literacy Volunteers works to help locals learn to read and also teaches English to non-speakers. The Father's House is a sober living home for men. Dave Miller, the organization's director, was thankful to receive the gift. 'The funding will go a long way toward training tutors, buying materials for tutors, buying materials for students and training students,' he said. He said that many in the community did not know about the Literacy Volunteers. When it came to researching the program, Pioneer junior Mia McKaig set out to look for literacy coalitions and discovered the Literacy Volunteers via a web search. Josh Garrison and Aaron Bolin are residents at The Father's House and were present as the Junior Board awarded the house a check. Garrison said he was surprised when he found out that the would receive the funding and called it a blessing. 'It helps more people get on their feet,' he said. 'It helps with repairs. Just knowing that there are people who are willing to help us is even more of a reason to want to do better.' During the year, the bank takes the students to different businesses and organizations around the community to learn more about what they offer Logansport and Cass County. 'It's been really nice getting to see the other businesses and how they work,' said Nicholas Park, a Lewis Cass senior who will attend Rose Hulman to study optical engineering. 'This year especially, the community hours have been really nice. We worked more closely with places like Our Father's House and Emmaus. Last year was about building relationships and this year was about seeing the practical application of those relationships and how they can help people in the community.' Myli Rude, a junior from Caston, said that being part of the board had encouraged her to help in the community and said working with students from other schools had been a confidence booster. She said she learned it is very important to have people by her side who want to accomplish similar goals so that those goals can be accomplished in better, stronger ways. Ashanta Curry, a Logansport senior, credited the Junior Board for teaching her how many opportunities there were in Logansport. 'Not many people think there are a good amount of job opportunities in Logansport but I think the junior board has shown there are so many job opportunities here and there are opportunities that will help you put your best foot forward,' she said. McKaig said her first year on the board was a great opportunity to meet new people and she was surprised how many similarities the students shared despite their diverse backgrounds 'I was surprised by that and how many friends I could make here,' she said. Hunter Bartling, also a Pioneer junior, said he agreed with McCaig and when he started the year he tended to keep more to himself until he realized the group of students shared a lot in common. 'I could relate to them more than I thought I could and I started to speak up more and everyone listens,' he said. 'It's nice to be listened to in a group.' Pioneer senior Keirsten Nies served as the board president this year. She will attend West Point in the fall. 'Leading a group of students such as those on the junior board has been extraordinary,' she said. 'It's so comforting to see that so many youth in the county really care about the community and possess the intellect and leadership required to do some of the things that we do. We were able to impact Logansport in some pretty monumental ways this year.' Carmen Jones, the bank's marketing officer, worked closely with the students throughout the school year. 'It's a joy and a privilege to get to know these kids so well during their time on the Junior Board,' she said. 'We have a lot of fun and we learn a lot, too, about our community and each other. I look forward to having the juniors back as seniors next year, and to seeing what this year's seniors will do in their futures.' '(The students) have been great to work with,' said Chad Higgins, president and CEO of Logansport Savings Bank 'I think this is our sixth group and I'm said to see the seniors go but I think they've been a great group of kids to work with.
