RiF R EADING i s F UNDAMENTAL

Every community faces the pressures of a changing employment landscape, and Hampton Roads is no different.  85% of new job growth is in the technology and services arena  65% of service jobs require increasing levels of skill with technology aids  Very few jobs today can be accomplished without being able to read and source information A Skilled Workforce Begins with a Prepared Child

 Every day life is increasingly dependent on being able to read, comprehend and manage large amounts of information  Failure for a child to attain their on grade literacy level by the time they reach 4 th grade typically will result in a non productive citizen who is often lost to society.  Raise a Reader (Project Head Start) essentially does what RIF does but that program stops when a child begins school and it does not cover the entire population of preschool/school age children. A Skilled Workforce Begins with a Prepared Child

In Norfolk the functional illiteracy rate is 12% ABOVE the national average: 29% of adults!

3 Three themed events per year Each event has THREE parts:  Pre-Activity: themed activity designed to engage the students in reading for information and knowledge  Distribution: where students receive books that match the activity theme  Post-activity: Teachers reinforce book ownership by assessing what students learned form their books and how they are taking care of their books What is a THEME? A subject area that the events activities and books center around. Examples are: Inventors, Heroes, Culture or Math HOW RIF WORKS

The combination of activities, themes and getting books related to the themes ties information gathering and book ownership together. WHY RIF IS VALUABLE Students are motivated to OWN information!

How Can Your Organization Help…?

…Let Me Tell You How!  We want your organization to provide a team of volunteers (8-12) who can do two hours training and then participate at three readings over the year. The initial reading is complete.  Each reading involves 3 hours at the school.  A smaller group would be asked to follow up the reading by distributing books at the same schools, again taking three hours.

Event Volunteers: Pre-activity and Book Distribution Day Eight volunteers assigned to each school for each visit. There are 2 visits per event (Pre- activity and Distribution) and 3 events per year. Event volunteers commit to 3 hours each time they visit a school. School Visits are either: Pre-activity OR Book distribution days VOLUNTEERS ENERGIZES VOLUNTEERS HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON: The interaction with students ENERGIZES them! Encourage Employees to Volunteer

Volunteers are trained to not just read to children – but how to engage them in learning new information. In addition to reading, a sampling of activities includes:  Creating ads to sell a story  Measuring, counting and other skill builders  Changing the endings to stories – or even the characters! This is NOT Just Reading to Kids!

$ The program is extremely economical. The cost per child for three activity days and three free books in under $6.00 per child. Yet, for many of the children we work with these are the FIRST books they OWN! Sponsoring a School or Book Day

Now is the time for us to join forces and reach every child with this message: “We want you to be successful – because we want you to be part of our future.”

When RIF day comes our school children light up to see the volunteers. Be a part of something that has a tangible impact on our children. Be A Part of RIF!

Thank You! For more information please contact: The Rotary Club of Norfolk 414 West Bute Street, Norfolk,

Electronic Systems Incorporated Federal Bureau of Investigation The Foleck Center for Cosmetic, Implant, and Restorative Dentistry Landmark Communications (multiple) The Norfolk Foundation Norfolk State University Old Dominion University Lady’s & Men’s Monarchs Basketball Teams UBS Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay Current VolunteerTeams