Volunteer mentors will be will be returning to Spencer-Owen Community Schools’ kindergarten classrooms this year and begin visiting Richland Bean Blossom Schools' kindergarten classrooms to inspire a love of reading.
The Real Men Read program brings together local "MENtors" who volunteer to read to students once a month for five months during the school year. Kindergarteners receive a book during each visit to build their own home libraries and share with their parents. The MENtors will reach an estimated 440 children each year at both Richland Bean Blossom Schools (RBB) and Spencer-Owen Community Schools (SOCS).
The Duke Energy Foundation awarded $22,000 to United Way to build the Real Men Read program -- $15,000 in 2013 for SOCS and $7,000 in 2014 for RBB. This funding will support each program for two years.
Last year's Real Men Read at SOCS brought over 1,000 new children's books into the community and teachers reported that students were engaged and enthusiastic during the readings. It was easy to see the positive relationships built between the MENtors and students in the classroom.
With these grants -- plus one awarded by Duke Energy to the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools -- all public school kindergarten classes in Monroe and Owen counties now benefit from Real Men Read. This results in 6,000 books making their way into students' homes each program year. The three school districts enroll around 1,200 kindergarteners annually.
Real Men Read fits with United Way of Monroe County's goal to improve educational outcomes for local youth, preparing them for success in school and life. “Children are primarily learning to read in school until about the third grade. Starting in fourth grade, they are expected to be able to read to learn,” said Ashley Schoolman, Assistant Director of Community Initiatives for United Way of Monroe County. "The Real Men Read program helps students discover the pleasure of reading, encourages them to improve their literacy skills, and provides an opportunity to bring a positive male role model into the elementary school setting.”
Both Bruce Calloway and Steve Bahr, Duke Energy South Central Indiana District Managers, agree that Real Men Read supports children. “Children benefit by seeing men demonstrating the importance of reading and hopefully it inspires boys—and girls—to read more. The program gets books into children’s hands and introduces an often overlooked volunteer base to our schools by utilizing positive male role models as MENtors.”
"We are grateful to Duke Energy Foundation for its support of United Way's reading initiatives and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Richland-Bean Blossom Schools and to continuing our partnership with the Spencer-Owen Community Schools," remarked Barry Lessow, United Way Executive Director. "Thanks to the MENtors and, of course, the RBBS and SOCS classroom teachers for all they do to help children learn the value of reading."
Seventeen community mentors, including representatives from local businesses, community organizations, and retired educators participate in the RBBS and SOCS Real Men Read program. All volunteers go through an orientation to learn best practices for engaging young students.
