Vital Literacy Program, Experience Corps Bay Area, Faces Funding Gap — April 29 Recognition Event to Raise Awareness and Funds

San Francisco, CA, 2018-Apr-27 — /EPR Network/ — Aspiranet’s Experience Corps Bay Area literacy program is facing a critical funding gap that threatens the program’s ability to serve Bay Area students in need. Community members are invited to support and celebrate ECBA’s success at the upcoming “From Readers to Leaders” event, April 29 hosted by GitHub at their headquarters in San Francisco.

Experience Corps Bay Area (ECBA), a literacy program established by Aspiranet in 1998, is a local chapter of the only national program and currently serves 3,500 Bay Area students. ECBA provides intensive reading intervention from older adult volunteers throughout an entire school year to help K-3 children who are struggling with reading.  Community members are invited to celebrate the literacy program’s 20-year success at the upcoming ““From Readers to Leaders” recognition event, April 29, from 1:30-3:30 PM at the innovative GitHub in San Francisco. Children’s book author, Tamara Shiloh is the featured guest speaker. For information and to RSVP, http://experiencecorpsbayarea.org.

“Nearly 70% of our nation’s children reach 4^th grade unable to read at a proficient level.  Thanks to our partners and many dedicated volunteers, ECBA is helping local children accelerate their reading skills to grade-level by the end of the school year. Last year 3,534 students benefitted from 16,713 hours of tutoring, all through the work of caring volunteers,” said Emily Reisner, Director of Experience Corps Bay Area.  Reisner added, “ECBA serves 23 of the lowest income public elementary schools from Oakland to San Mateo mobilizing, training and supporting older adults to tutor at-risk students struggling to read at grade level.  Adults stay active and give back in a meaningful way, while the children receive the individualized support they might not otherwise get… a win-win for everyone!”

Za’kiyah, an 8-year old student at Hillcrest Elementary in Oakland, took part in the program in September to ask for 1-on-1 tutoring. With support from ECBA literacy tutor and volunteer Colleen Kanaley, Za‘kiyah improved by one grade level. “Za’kiyah has been such a bright spot in my work at Hillcrest,” said Kanaley.

Additional volunteers who are age 50 and older are needed at the following schools:

• Woodrow Wilson Elementary, Daly City
• Daniel Webster Elementary, Daly City
• Los Cerritos Elementary, South San Francisco
• Spruce Elementary, South San Francisco
• Selby Lane Elementary, Atherton

For more information about becoming a volunteer with ECBA, visit: http://experiencecorpsbayarea.org/get-involved/volunteer/

Event: From Readers to Leaders Celebration and Recognition Event

When: 1:30-3:30 PM

Where: GitHub, 88 Colin P. Kelly Jr. Street, San Francisco, CA  94107

Guest speaker: Tamara Shiloh – Author of the children’s book series, ‘Just Imagine… What If There Were No Black People in the World,’ is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. http://tamarashiloh.com/about-us/

RSVP:  http://experiencecorpsbayarea.org/

About Aspiranet

Aspiranet is a 501(c) (3), California nonprofit organization with the mission of providing children, youth, and families with a foundation of support and services so they can succeed at home, at school, and in their communities. Aspiranet offers a unique blend of services including foster family support, adoption through foster care, services for foster youth transitioning to adulthood, mental health services, residential care, intensive home-based care, and community-based family resources. For more than 40 years, Aspiranet has been dedicated to offering outstanding services that impact more than 35,000 children, youth and parents at 33 community-based sites statewide. For more information, visit www.aspiranet.org.  ###