• Address: Los Angeles, CA 90034 (map)
• Date Posted: 10/20/09

Hello, my name's Stephen and I run the The Reading Writing It’s Exciting! program.

The program's purpose is to mentor 2nd graders in the Los Angeles area in writing and reading. These kids have been identified by their teachers as needing the most help.

And here's the reason behind the program: Research has shown that if kids aren't reading at their grade level by 3rd grade, they almost never catch up. And then numbers have shown that 50-80% of these kids who can't read or write eventually drop out of school, commit crimes, or join gangs... So, we're hoping by reaching them early, they won't be a part of those statistics.

The amount of kids we can mentor depends entirely on how many mentors volunteer, so if you, or anyone you know, wants to help, please let me know.

The program will run in 4-week sessions (meeting once a week from 1 pm to 2 pm), starting in mid-November or early December. But there's no requirement to make all 4 sessions. Even just coming one day will be helpful... I'm hoping by lessening that time requirement, it'll be easier for people to mentor.

Staring in 2010, we'll continue the program in concurrent 4-week sessions from January - May.

If you'd like to be a mentor, send me your email, and I'll send you more info.

Best regards,

Stephen Kogon