For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners”. The program aims to help children develop strong literacy skills that they can take with them into their academic careers. This requires the tutor to read to the student who has been assigned and, in turn, the student reads to the tutor. The program helps teach students valuable reading skills. Knowing how to read is essential to a child's academic success. The program works with more than 100 schools in seven states. The program is aimed at students from low-income families. The statistics on childhood literacy in the United States are astonishing. “In 2011, only thirty-four percent of fourth graders in public schools nationwide could read proficiently” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The program itself has been exponentially successful. Principals and teachers reported that Reading Partners helped raise students' reading levels. During my time in the program, I accumulated twelve hours of volunteer time. When I found out I had to volunteer for seven hours, I immediately knew I wanted to get kids involved. I attended the volunteer fair that was held earlier in the semester and signed up for programs such as Louie's Kids and Wings for Kids. Unfortunately, I was unable to volunteer for any of these programs because they were not within walking distance of the college and I did not have transportation. A few weeks later, I saw a flyer advertising “Reading Partners.” I attended an informational event they held and signed up to volunteer at Memminger Elementary School, which is about two blocks from the middle school. At the end of September, I was assigned to a fo...... middle of paper... ...being so small, it makes me realize how difficult it is to raise awareness about issues in our communities. It's a challenge to get people involved because they always want to know what's in it for them. Children need to be read to, sung to and played with all the time. Parents should be their child’s first teachers and caregivers. The earlier it starts, the closer that child is to graduating. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer at the elementary school. It opened my eyes to some of the problems in our communities. I have been able to raise awareness of these issues through volunteering and being proactive. I will continue the program as long as I can. If only we had millions of programs like this around the world, many more children could benefit and develop the skills needed to succeed in school..