Corporate Community Joins READ to Provide a Solution to Reading and Teen Jobs Crisis in Low-Income Areas

NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- READ (Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation) announced today that HSBC Bank USA, N.A., News Corporation, and Bloomberg are key investors of its Adopt-a-School Program launched recently to improve the reading scores of low-income children and create meaningful jobs for teens.  Since 1999, READ's tutoring programs have improved the lives of 13,000 children and teens in hundreds of New York City schools.

"HSBC is delighted to support READ and the Adopt-a-School Program to help children who are falling behind in reading," said Ashley Parker, President, New York City region, HSBC Bank USA. "Our efforts to support the communities where we work and live focus primarily on education and environmental programs, and through our relationship with READ, we are able to make an important contribution to our city's schools and to the lives of our children."

Each READ Adopt-a-School Program supporter allows a full class of 30 children who are falling behind in reading to catch up with their peers while giving 20 teens valuable employment experience in their roles as reading tutors.  

On April 28, 2010, READ will celebrate its 10th Anniversary at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle.  This event will recognize key leaders from the education, business, and foundation community who have helped provide more than 7,700 at-risk students with reading skills necessary for academic and life success and 5,550 teens with community service and jobs.  For tickets and information, please visit www.readnyc.org.

READ operates dozens of School Year and Summer Reading Programs in partnership with hundreds of schools and community based organizations.  Its first programs took place in two Bronx parochial schools in the summer of 2000.  Since then, the citywide achievement gap between minority and non-minority students in reading has decreased.  READ has achieved recognition for providing meaningful jobs to teens at a time when the economy has caused the teen employment rate to reach its lowest level in decades.  

The teen tutors report that they use their experience with READ on college and job applications and learn the values of patience and respect for their own teachers.  

"Being a READ tutor has taught me patience, structure, obedience and organizational skills," Jamel Burton, a 10th grade tutor at Public School 5 in Manhattan said.  Some tutors also see their own English Language Arts grades improve as a result of the program. "At the moment (when I became a READ tutor) I understood something my mother told me and I didn't quite understand at the time. 'It takes a village to raise a child.'  Being a READ tutor I am part of that village. Tutoring these children I realize I'm shaping their future.  At the same time these children are shaping mine," Burton said.  

READ's founding chairman has been recognized with the Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the organization has received a four star Charity Navigator rating.

READ's Mission

READ serves at-risk kindergarten and first graders by recruiting and training teens to provide structured one-to-one tutoring in reading. READ focuses on students in the early grades to prevent reading difficulties before they become barriers to future success. Students average a full grade level improvement in reading while their teen tutors achieve their first paid jobs leading to critical college, career, and life skills.

SOURCE READ Foundation