Unificationist Youth Support Literacy Efforts in Nevada
Photos courtesy of Shine City Project
A group of young Unificationists recently spent their weekend helping a children’s literacy nonprofit in Clark County, Nevada. Some 11 volunteers from the Shine City Project (SCP) partnered with Spread the Word Nevada on June 11 to clean and prepare several hundred books to be donated to kids in need.
“Helping out brought back nostalgia for me while cleaning the books,” said Jerold, one of the volunteers from SCP. “Knowing that the books are being donated to kids, libraries, and schools made the volunteer work really meaningful.”
Since 2001, Spread the Word Nevada has distributed more than six million gently used and new books to nearly 735,000 low-income youth statewide. Nevada ranks eighth among the top 10 states with the worst children’s literacy rate in the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
“We’re dedicated to advancing early childhood literacy by placing books into the hands and homes of children within Nevada’s at-risk, low income communities,” said a spokesperson for the nonprofit. “While developing a love of reading, the libraries [we donate to] also promote future academic achievement and self-confidence, which impacts lifelong success.”
Childhood literacy efforts are essential to reducing the rates of adult illiteracy. About one in five U.S. adults (21 percent) don't have basic reading, writing, and math skills above a third-grade level, according to NCES, translating to about 43 million adults. Spread the Word Nevada stuck out to SCP Director Jeffrey Silerio and his team, who were eager to contribute to such a life-changing effort.
“This was a great opportunity to be able to give to others by cleaning books and making sure that the kids who would receive them would feel joy from learning with these books,” said Houshin, a volunteer.
“As someone who loved reading as a child, I am grateful to support a nonprofit helping kids with their literary skills,” said Jennifer, another volunteer. “Preparing books to be donated for kids was a surprisingly fun experience. I enjoyed seeing all the different books and reminiscing about books from my own childhood. We also played a ‘book bingo,’ which made the work even more engaging. I hope the kids who receive these books can enjoy reading in general.”
Nationally, statistics show children of adults with low literacy skills are 72 percent more likely to be at a low reading level in school. Illiteracy is also a major factor in whether adolescents graduate from high school. This makes the work of Spread the Word Nevada that much more critical, as it has currently “adopted” 65 local elementary schools that receive their donated books monthly.
“I would love to come back here and volunteer again,” said Jerold. “I had a great time, and the staff was friendly ... They have a very important mission and vision to help the youth.”
You can connect with a Unificationist community near you here.