United Way representatives were on hand to observe the Birdsboro Community Memorial Center (BCMC) “Ready. Set. Read!” program on Wednesday, July 15.
This is the second year that the community center has incorporated “Ready.Set.Read!” into their summer playground program. In 2014, they were recognized and given an award by the United Way for their participation in this reading initiative
The program was launched only a year ago in 2014 with a goal of 90 percent of third graders being proficient in reading by 2023, said Pat Giles, Executive Vice President/Chief Impact Officer United Way Berks. The United Way of Berks County manages the program. According to Ready Set Read Berks’s website third grade reading proficiency is a key indicator of future success, yet recent PSSA scores show that more than 25 percent of third graders in Berks County fall short of being proficient.
“United Way encourages agencies that receive funding to promote this program. The purpose is to help children build skills over the summer so that they are ready to start school in the fall,” said Mary Lou Myers, BCMC program director. The playground program has 160 children attending. There are 6 reading sessions a day with different age groups. Kelsey Hultz, a lead summer program counselor, said that a chapter is read daily for about 15 minutes.
For this year’s program the Birdsboro Rotary Club assisted with the funding by obtaining a Rotary District Grant.
The grant was $888 and the Birdsboro Rotary club provided the 50 percent cash match for books and board games for the children. As part of the grant participation requirement, Rotary members are volunteer readers.
