This year we celebrated South African Library Week and World Storytelling Day across the Western Cape and Gauteng with a number of exciting activities to motivate learners to visit their local library and get reading.
My journey with help2read started in 2010 after I retired as an accountant. After returning from an overseas holiday, I came back refreshed and saw an advertisement in our local community newspaper, The Athlone News, in which help2read advertised for volunteers to assist children to read at local schools.
Every week, our Volunteer Reading Helpers and Literacy Tutors sit down with learners in schools across the country for one-on-one reading sessions. The aim of these sessions: to help children learn to read. While the purpose of the weekly reading support might be simple, the ripple effect is hugely significant.
Last week, we celebrated South African Library Week. The theme for this year’s Library Week, Libraries – The heart of the community, was truly apt and highlighted the vital role that libraries play in the communities that they serve.
On 14 February, we celebrated International Book Giving Day, commemorating the joy of giving and the treasure of owning a book. This year, we commemorated International Book Giving Day by gifting each learner on our programme with a brand new book. The day perfectly coincided with Valentine’s Day, and what better way for us to show love than by gifting books!
help2read recently welcomed Claremont Primary School in the south of Johannesburg as a new partner school for the Volunteer Reading Help Programme to assist struggling learners to improve their reading.
It’s a new school year and another chance for us to do what we do best: help children learn to read. It’s always an exciting time of the year as we meet new learners who will start their journey on our reading help programme, connect with our Volunteer Reading Helpers, both old and new, and kick off our year-long Literacy Tutor Programme.
2018 has brought some exciting changes at the Johannesburg office with the addition of four, yes, four new staff members. We are also delighted to now be fully underway with activities in Diepsloot and that the schools we are serving with our reading help model are multiplying. 2018 is the year we are taking on our greens and growing!
We are delighted to introduce you to our new Literacy Tutors for 2018! These young men and women have embarked on a year-long journey that will not only equip them personally and professionally, but will also see them impact their communities by providing one-on-one reading support to learners at disadvantaged, overcrowded schools.
February is the month of love, and what better way to celebrate than scoop up your little ones and read about love and relationships. With so many wonderful, heartwarming books about love for children out there, we asked our team to share their favourite children’s books, ones we’re certain will be a hit with the little ones in your life.
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