SLIDESHOW: United Way Celebrates Its Ready To Read Program

The United Way Women’s Alliance celebrated the 1-year anniversary of its Ready to Read early literacy pilot initiative this week.

The initiative began as an effort to equip young children in Framingham with the skills they will need to enter kindergarten.

Ready to Read provides children from local families with 12 new books each year from birth to the time they enter kindergarten, a total of 60 books.

In its first year, Ready to Read provided 63 children with 12 new books totaling 756 age-appropriate books to keep in their homes.

After just one year, Ready to Read saw a 71 percent increase in the number of families reading with their children for 16 to 30 minutes per day; two thirds of families enrolled in Ready to Read now read together five times a week with their children.

All of the families participating in Ready to Read indicate that their children are more interested in and more excited about reading as a result of their participation in the program.

The United Way of Tri-County partners with the Framingham Housing Authority to ensure that new books reach children at an early age – from birth to 5 – who are most in need and works with the Framingham Public Schools to measure long-term literacy trends for students in kindergarten and third grade.

Suzanne Garcia from the Framingham Housing Authority said, “We are thrilled to support our families to build early literacy skills at home and watch our children develop as a vital part of our community.”

Through Ready to Read, the United Way Women’s Alliance continues to invest heavily to strengthen families and communities.

Jen Maseda, UWTC’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, said, “We are very excited with the success that Ready to Read has seen in its first year. We’ve seen the impact, both short- and long-term, that providing books has on the lives of families, not to mention the joy that reading brings to a young child. We are grateful for the commitments to early literacy by our partners.”

Ready to Read has received generous support from the Sudbury Foundation, TD Bank, EMC Corporation, the TJX Companies, Inc., and American Girl.

The goal is to distribute 24,000 books to MetroWest children in the next year and encourages the community to help achieve this goal.

For a small investment, the outcomes are extraordinary. Just $25 provides a child with 12 new books each year; $150 provides a child with books from birth through the start of kindergarten.

Visit the organization’s website to sponsor a child on the road to success: http://www.uwotc.org/readytoread.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Jess Friswell at jessica.friswell@uwotc.org or 508-370-4858.