Woman poses with child at whiteboard

Reading Hour wrapped up for the fall of 2017, and was a great start to the new iteration of the program! In total, Reading Hour served six centers, engaged 19 volunteers who served over 150 hours, and was supported by a team of four Virginia Tech students who worked as Center Coordinators throughout the region. Smart Beginnings anticipates being able to grow the number of participating centers and children served throughout the region in the Spring of 2018.

Chandler Scott, who served as a Center Coordinator this fall and will be returning for the spring, expressed what the program means to her: “I love seeing how excited the children get to see the volunteers and how they progress so much with their reading! One of our kids couldn’t recognize any colors at the beginning of the program, and by the end of it he was pointing out the color of every object in the book! Seeing them accomplish important milestones such as writing their name or recognizing words in the books has made all the work towards the program worth it!”

If you are interested in volunteering with Reading Hour, contact  Anna Harbom (aharbom@nrvrc.org)  540-639-9313, ext. 213 or go to www.SmartBeginningsNRV.org to download an application.