Funds raised stay local and support in-school reading engagement programs for kids.
Mid Oregon Credit Union launches a new community impact partnership and Spring 2024 fundraiser on Monday, April 8 to benefit SMART Reading™. Mid Oregon members and the community are invited to donate cash or make account transfers at any one of Mid Oregon’s branches. One hundred percent of funds will stay in the community where they were collected and be used to support the SMART Reading programs in those local schools.
“For the past 20 years, Mid Oregon has championed Healthy Beginnings through our Adopt-A-Bear fundraiser,” said, Kyle Frick; VP Marketing and Community Relations. “As Healthy Beginnings becomes a part of the High Desert ESD, we have discovered a new opportunity to direct our efforts toward a local nonprofit that supports another important predictor of success for early learners. We look forward to a new long-term partnership with SMART Reading.”
SMART’s role is to provide children with two proven ingredients for literacy success: one-on-one reading time and access to books. In their One-to-One SMART program, volunteers model the joy of reading and/or support the child’s efforts to read independently during shared reading experiences. Students also choose two books per month to keep and read with their families to help continue their learning.
“Reading is a critical skill for kids, enabling them to succeed in school and beyond. Right now, over 60% of Oregon third graders are not reading on grade level.” said Jennifer Zardinejad, Central and Northeast Area Director of SMART Reading. “This is a huge concern for our whole community because third grade is the pivotal year when kids are expected to transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
This article appears in Source Weekly April 11, 2024.
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