Letter of the Week: Lead to Read KC
Every Wednesday, Husch Blackwell lawyer Casey Martin sits in a child-size chair and reads with 7-year-old Le’Onna. American Century Investors compliance consultant Alane Watts carpools with colleagues to King Elementary to read with second-graders. Retired teacher Linda Albee finishes her morning workout and heads straight to Garfield to read with Nimo, alongside more than 100 DST Systems employees.
Lead to Read KC places trusted adults in classrooms to read with students over the lunch hour and provides the Kansas City Public School District with its largest group of volunteers.
In the Center School District, 120 students read with Burns & McDonnell employees.
Volunteers from CBIZ, Country Club Bank , Hallmark, Henderson Engineers, KCP&L, KCPD, Lead Bank, Lockton, Miller Group, Populous and UMB join classrooms. Some, such as Global Prairie designer Emily Mullett, have been mentors for years. These are just some of the hero volunteers and companies working to improve literacy for area kids.
Started in 2011 as a labor of love with 30 volunteers, Lead to Read KC now manages more than 1,000 volunteers in 50 classrooms and is seeking funding to support that growth. We rely on companies and individuals to survive. Our commitment is real, our success is remarkable, and with your help, our possibilities are endless.
Pauly Hart
Executive Director
Lead to Read KC
This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letter of the Week: Lead to Read KC."