Volunteers of America

"Literacy is crucially important for success in life," said Kathleen Eastman, Volunteers of America (VOA).

The program serves infants through 12-year-olds.

"The earlier children are exposed to conversation, songs, to rhymes, to books, learning their letters. The better foundation they'll have to go to school and given Rochester's graduation rate, I don't think we can do too much to promote literacy," said Eastman.

The VOA wants children to be able to read for content by third grade.

"You're reading your science book, history book. You're reading literature. So, you really have to be caught up. If you haven't learned to read, you will not be able to do those things," said Eastman.

The program also gets parents involved.

"We do literacy events. We send books home; we give books to the children. We talk to parents about how important it is that they try to read to their child," said Eastman.

The Volunteers of America could use your help through the R Caring Gifts campaign to expand its child literacy program.

"We are starting two new programs, accelerated reader and reading comprehension, that we have web-based computer programs to help them with comprehension and sight reading," said Eastman.

The campaign runs through the end of the month. You can find a brochure at any Wegmans location, or call 585-647-1150.

The information is also available from the link below.

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