"Reading to Kids is a program that wants to build a lifetime of love for books. This is a volunteer program offered to children the second Saturday of each month at some L A public schools. I found out about the program last year. I did volunteer a couple of times, and due to my hectic schedule, I couldn’t do it anymore; this year I am back, so I sign up for this month reading. The reading was on July 12. I asked my daughter to come with me. She is twenty-two years old, and does not work weekends. She told me that she is busy with her own stuff. How do I wish to take her with me, the same way that I took her to the public library since she was a toddler, but nowadays she is too heavy for me to carry, or give her time out for not listening to me. Yes, it is hard to give up three hours of our precious time to help children with their reading.
These children come on a Saturday morning to hear someone to read. After the reading, the children get a book as a prize for their achievements. These children could stay at their homes and watch T V tackled under their covers. They could stay home and play with their friends, but these children are special. They long for books, they prefer to come to school on a Saturday morning and enjoy their readings.
I saw a little girl going home after the program. I was leaving the parking lot, and she was crossing the street. She was going home all by herself. Home was a little apartment around the corner, a block away from school. She carried a book that was given to her after the program, as something very precious. She was taking her book home. She was going to a place where books are not a necessity. She was going to a place where the T V is in Spanish all day long. She was carrying with her paradise. One day, this little girl will grow-up and the lessons from her books will be stronger that any lessons she can learn on the streets. She will be a professional, someone who will care for her community; who knows, maybe a doctor or a teacher.
Reading to Kids is waiting for more volunteers. This is a beautiful program because it is planting the seeds of knowledge in little minds. This is an extraordinary program because it is giving hope of a better future to little children. Please become a reader because little children are waiting to hear you reading."
The above entry was written by Reading to Kids volunteer Maria Morales
