United Way Looking for Volunteers to Create Reading Kits

White Plains, N.Y, (December, 2017) - United Way of Westchester Putnam needs your help to make sure that hundreds of books it collected in recent months will go to low-income children in Westchester and Putnam.

On January 15 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, UWWP will host volunteers at the Girl Scout Heart of the Hudson in Pleasantville to help build reading kits for low-income children as part of the organization’s United2Read program. The program seeks to promote literacy and boost grade-level reading among low-income children. Sixty percent of low-income children do not have even one children’s book in the home and only 38 percent of children in Westchester and Putnam are reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.

“These are numbers that are very disturbing and ones we need to change if we want to see progress in moving people toward self-sufficiency,’’ said Alana Sweeny, President and CEO of United Way of Westchester and Putnam. “Low-income children who are not reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade are 10 times more likely to drop out of school.”

Dorothy Perez, the staff leader of the book drive, said the reading kits will include three books from United Way’s recent book drive and activities that inspire parents and children to interact in educational play.

Volunteers are still needed to help create kits and can choose from two shifts: 10 - 11:30 a.m. or 12 noon- 1:30 p.m. on January 15 at Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Inc.2 Great Oak Ln, Pleasantville, NY. To sign up visit http://bit.ly/2BNu3DK

The Book Drive will also continue through Jan. 5 with new and gently used books accepted. http://www.uwwp.org/pdfs/Book-Drive-2017-Flyer.pdf To purchase books via amazon and ship direct to United Way, click on this link: http://amzn.to/2BNtOsk

Last year UWWP delivered more than 1,000 books bags filled with reading materials to low-income children and families at pre-schools, daycare and community centers and other non-profit agencies in Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, White Plains, Valhalla, Ossining, Brewster and Carmel.

About United Way of Westchester and Putnam

United Way of Westchester and Putnam (UWWP) works with government, business, non-profits and community leaders to solve complex problems. We focus on children, parents and families living on the financial edge. Our aim is to put them on a path toward self-sufficiency, so they might thrive and contribute to a stronger community. Our 2-1-1 helpline takes nearly 80,000 calls a year, directing people in tight spots to resources to help them meet basic needs like heating, food, shelter, mortgage questions, childcare, natural disaster and personal crisis situations. We provide job skills training and financial education to adults. And we help more and more children and their parents to make sure children are reading on grade level by 3rd grade, a critical marker of academic success and future viability in our society. .