Redwood City Friends of Literacy (Project READ)

Project READ (Redwood City Friends of Literacy) is a free, volunteer-based literacy program serving adults, children and families. We are committed to providing literacy training throughout our diverse community. Tutoring lessons are student-centered, focusing on reading, writing and critical thinking skills and are supported by the generous help of our volunteers. Our intergenerational programs are designed to break the cycle of illiteracy by surrounding adults and families with literacy services that promote education and a lifelong love of learning.

We focus on Redwood City’s most underserved neighborhoods and schools. One in five adults in Redwood City reads below an 8th grade level and more than 38% of school-aged children fail to complete the 12th grade.  Within the North Fair Oaks area, where the majority of our children, teens and families live, there are few options available for after-school activities in safe and supportive educational environments.

Our goal is to "level the playing field" for disadvantaged, low-income children, adults and their families in our community by providing educational experiences that will help them to succeed in school and gain self-esteem to reach their full potentials.

BE THE DIFFERENCE

Your generous donation will help us continue to offer quality services to our community, raising reading scores by 3.0 levels in one year.  It will also enable us to offer new programming such as STEAM learning for our youth and early literacy intervention for our young families. In addition, funds provide educational materials, field trips, tutor training and workshops that will help our learners succeed in work and school, gain self-esteem and prepare for college.

 Impact

1. Provide youth services to 350 academically at-risk students, grades 1 – 12, including STEM and TECH Pilot Programs
2. Provide adult services to 400 adults in the community and correctional facilities
3. Increase reading skills by an average of 3.0 grade levels in one year
4. Train 150 new volunteer tutors
5. Distribute 3,000 children’s books to help build home libraries of the families in our program
6. Increase grades of students in the Project READ programs and offer a safe and supportive learning environment. 
7. Provide early literacy activities for children whose parents are receiving tutoring and who do not have access to pre-school. 
8. Provide teen students who have been identified by schools as academically at-risk with tutoring, mentoring and opportunities to graduate from high school or earn their GED, attend college and improve their career options.