By: Lauren Niles, Literacy Lab Committee Chair
Every Wednesday, women from the Literacy Lab Committee meet
at the DC General Shelter. When they arrive at the shelter, which used to be a city-run
hospital, the residents are eating dinner. As they gather the supplies and set
up the room, everything is relatively quiet and calm. But that changes in the
blink of an eye, when dinner wraps up and the halls and the room used for the
Ready-to-Read program fill with sounds of excited squeals, sneakers squeaking,
and laughter; both the children and the
volunteers look forward to a high-energy night of sharing, reading, and playing
together.
The goal of the Literacy Lab Ready-to-Read program is to
provide low-income children experiencing homelessness with individualized
reading instruction to improve their literacy skills, leading to greater
success in school and increased opportunities in life. Each week, volunteers in
the Literacy Lab placement spend one-on-one time with children ages three
through eight. While the focus of the placement is on literacy, more than
anything, the time spent with these children having shared positive
interactions is the most valuable part of the program. The majority of the
women in the Literacy Lab placement come back year after year, and have
long-standing relationships with many of the children in the shelter. The
Literacy Lab Committee looks forward to continuing this partnership and program
for many years to come, and truly believes that this program is making an
impact on our community.
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