The United Way is searching for volunteers to help students maintain their reading skills throughout the summer.

United Way of Greater St. Joseph Director of Community Investment Jodi Bloemker said they are recruiting volunteers to read with small groups of school-age children in summer child care programs.

“We have a brief training just kind of (to) go over some reading tips to help prepare (volunteers). Then they would sit with a group of, typically, four or five children… and you just go around in a circle and you read together. The volunteer would take a page, the next child would take a page… and you just help them with their words, you go through the book,” Bloemker said. “The importance is keeping kids reading over the summer, because when they are out of school, a lot of kids don’t read. By bringing in these volunteers, we keep them reading over the summer to help them maintain their reading skills.”

Some sessions have started, but more volunteers are still needed as sessions run through July. Bloemker said volunteering for the United Way Reading Adventure is an easy way to volunteer.

“It’s also a great way to get youth volunteering, so we will have middle school and high school students who come and read with students, so if you’re needing to get volunteer hours as a youth, this is a great way to do it,” Bloemker said. “It’s also very easy because we’re so flexible, you sign up for whenever you are able to volunteer and you’re not committing to a long term effort.”

The Reading Adventure is a program of the United Way Profit In Education, one of the United Way’s seven initiatives. The program will be held at YMCA, Lindbergh, Hyde, Edison, Parkway, KinderCare, City REC Center, Bartlett Center, and Cathedral. 

For more information on volunteering for the United Way Reading Adventure, visit stjosephunitedway.org.