Read to Rise: A Mini-Library in every Grade 2 class

Handing over a Mini-Library to a Grade 2 class at Cascade Primary School in Eastridge, Mitchells Plain.

Read to Rise
Let’s place a Mini-Library with 50 new story books in 67 Grade 2 classes in Mitchells Plain. Give the gift of reading.
 

Read to Rise is a non-profit organisation committed to promoting youth literacy in schools in South Africa’s under-resourced communities. As the name indicates, we firmly believe that children need to read in order to rise in their personal development and contribution to society.   

Children who love reading, excel at school and go on to become constructive members of society. It all starts with reading.

We aim to address the troubling reality that young children in our communities are not reading as much as they require for their educational development. Children in the foundational phase should be reading around 40 books per year; in our under-resourced communities children are reading only 1 to 2 books per year.

A Mini-Library is a brightly painted bookshelf with 50 new, covered, age-appropriate story books.	READ to RISE Co-Founders Taryn Lock and Athol Williams conducting their very first classroom session at Meadowridge Primary School in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain – 18 September 2013.

If we can’t take children to a library, we will take a library to the children.

To address the absence of school libraries we created the Mini-Library, which is a brightly coloured bookshelf containing 50 new, age-appropriate, covered story books in a mix of languages that reflects the children’s home languages. The Mini-Library is placed in the classroom in schools and managed by the teacher, who is now able to ensure that learners are reading the required number of books per year and can monitor their literacy progress. We also have a reading competition to encourage learners to read as much books as they can. Our programme has been endorsed by the Department of Basic Education.

We don’t just drop off the books, we visit classes with volunteers and have an interactive session with the children to inspire them to read. Each book is personally covered in plastic by a volunteer and stamped with the sponsor’s name. Each bookshelf is handmade by a workshop in Mitchells Plain that train disabled individuals to make wooden products.

During Mandela Month, help us place a Mini-Library in another 67 Grade 2 classrooms at 14 primary schools in Mitchells Plain.

A Grade 2 class at Alpine Primary School very happy to receive their own Mini-Library!	Handing a Mini-Library over to a Grade 2 class at Caravelle Primary School in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain.

Milestones:

Milestone 1 – The Tipping Point: R19 200
A Mini-Library for 6 Grade 2 classes at a primary school in Mitchells Plain.
The primary school is Beacon View Primary School in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain.
A total of 300 new story books.

Milestone 2 – R80 000
A Mini-Library for 31 Grade 2 classes in Mitchells Plain.
The six primary schools include Beacon View Primary, Hyacinth Primary, Cornflower Primary, Yellowwood Primary, Littlewood Primary and West End Primary Schools.
A total of 1,150 new story books.

Milestone 3 – R214 400
A Mini-Library for 67 Grade 2 classes in Mitchells Plain.
The 15 primary schools include Beacon View Primary, Hyacinth Primary, Cornflower Primary, Yellowwood Primary, Littlewood Primary, West End Primary, AZ Berman Primary, Imperial Primary, Hillside Primary, Merrydale Primary, Hazeldene Primary, Huguenot Primary, Cascade Primary and Parkhurst Primary Schools.
A total of 3,350 new story books.

GET INVLOVED!
Buy Rewards and share the crowdfunding campaign: www.thundafund.com/readtorise

A happy Grade 2 class with their Mini-Library at Westville Primary School in Mitchells Plain.

Online:
www.readtorise.co.za
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Source: ICNW