Mandel Library Seeking Let’s Read Program Volunteers

From the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach:

August 23, 2020

By Danielle

Do you love books, children, and reading? Are you looking for a way to share a love of reading with others? Good news… the library’s Let’s Read program is looking for new volunteers!

Let’s Read is a community volunteer-based reading program established in 2003 by the staff at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The program encourages a love of reading by training volunteers to bring storytimes into the classrooms of Title 1 elementary schools and pre-schools in the city of West Palm Beach. Let’s Read is designed to bring great books and adult mentors into classrooms and help children in preschool through second grade develop a love of reading and libraries. During the school year, Let’s Read volunteers share stories and rhymes, distribute library cards, encourage library use, and support reading at home. Each week, approximately 900 children are reached by the Let’s Read program.

Let’s Read volunteers are the heart of the program, so the library staff works hard to recruit, train, and support them. Volunteer readers enroll in a one-hour training session. During this training, they learn the philosophy of the Let’s Read program, detailed instructions and guidance on the art of reading aloud, and the importance of early literacy. Volunteers are given “magic reading wands” and Let’s Read t-shirts to wear on each visit into the classroom. Upon completing the training, these Let’s Read readers are assigned to a classroom that they visit once a week throughout the school year. Due to COVID-19, Let’s Read storytimes will begin virtually this school year, and volunteers will begin reading to their classrooms through Google Meet.

At the beginning of every storytime session, the Let’s Read volunteer pulls out a magic wand and chants: “Abra Cadabra! Abra Kazoom! Let storytime magic enter this room!” After the first couple of weeks, the children join in the chant as they anticipate the magic of stories!

Interested in learning more about how to bring storytime magic to students in West Palm Beach? Great! Fill out the form found here. We’ll be in touch to connect you with more information about Let’s Read and let you know about upcoming volunteer trainings.

This press release was produced by the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.