SMART (Start Making A Reader Today)

SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) recruits volunteers to read one-on-one with K-3 children in need of literacy support. Every week for seven months, during the school year, volunteers read one-on-one with children to help support their literacy skill development. Educators agree this helps reinforce reading and language skills learned in the classroom.

SMART partners with schools and other non-profit youth serving organizations such as afterschool programs and head starts with a high populations of children from low income families, as studies show they are less likely to have books in the home. To encourage reading outside the classroom, SMART gives each child 14 new, take-home books‚—two per month during the course of the program.