ALL ABOUT READ WITH ME VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS ASSISTING LOCAL CHILDREN
The Read With Me Volunteer Programs nonprofit was founded in 2004 by Roberta and Clay Klein. After representatives from the Coachella Valley Unified School District informed them that local schools needed English-speaking role models to volunteer and help students improve their English language skills, the couple decided to establish the organization.
As agriculture is a major industry in the East Valley, a significant number of families consequently live in poverty. Many of the hardworking parents labor in the fields. They have received very little, if any, formal education, and therefore lack academic English language skills.
RWMVP is an intergenerational and intercultural program focused on English language acquisition for elementary school children. It offers a unique program for students in grades K-6, where they read to a volunteer, and then the volunteer helps with pronunciation and comprehension by asking follow-up questions. Volunteers are encouraged to commit two to three hours a week. The volunteers are assigned to a specific grade level of their choosing and work under the direction of the teacher with children in small groups of one-on-one.
There are 29 schools representing Coachella Valley, Tahoe, and Reno in the Read With Me Volunteer Programs network. Its main mission has evolved to help disadvantaged children who live in poverty and come from homes where no English is spoken to greatly improve their reading and speaking English abilities.
All research on the effectiveness of education indicates that if a child is not reading at grade level by the third grade, they are more likely to drop out of high school, fail to succeed in the workforce, and often encounter trouble, ultimately leading to incarceration. In 2004, only 51% of the students, mainly from the East Valley, graduated from high school. Now, 20 years later, 86.1% of the students graduate from high school, mostly due to the involvement of RWMVP.
In the 2024-25 academic year, RWMVP impacted the lives of more than 14,500 students. A dedicated team of 535 volunteers invested over 14,000 hours in tutoring. Additionally, 125 National Charity League and Sacred Heart book volunteers donated 1,200 hours sorting books outside of classrooms. A total of 33,222 books were directly distributed to students in classrooms, 12,000 supplemental books were provided through donations, and 43,850 books were handed out to children for special community education events.
Now, with our partnership with the Riverside County Office of Education and their invaluable support to Executive Director Sean Webb, the significance of our mission is nearly limitless. Data from 2023-2024 shows that students mentored by Read With Me volunteers saw a scholastic improvement of 13% compared to students who did not receive the extra mentoring help. We look forward to our upcoming data.
The volunteers are assigned to a specific grade level of their choosing and work under the direction of the teacher with children in small groups or one-on-one. The teacher selects the children and the materials to be used. The children read to the volunteer, and the volunteer helps with pronunciation and comprehension by asking questions. Children love individual adult attention, and teachers appreciate the extra help, as it is challenging for them to provide the necessary one-on-one attention to the kids.
“We invite volunteers to share their time, expertise, and talent with us in our most joyful mission,” said Read With Me Volunteer Programs Executive Director Sean Webb. “Helping disadvantaged children become successful, contributing citizens in our local communities is extremely rewarding. We are accepting new and returning volunteers. We ask that the volunteers live here in the Coachella Valley, either part-time or full-time.”
For more information about Read With Me Volunteer Programs and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.readwithmevolunteer.org or call 760-567-1830. Read With Me is a proud partner with the Riverside County Office of Education Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative.
