Tap into the power of sports.

United Way of the Plains teamed up with Wichita State University to host a Fight for Literacy Game to ensure that students in Wichita Public Schools had access to books featuring characters of color. After raising more than $28,000 (with the support of International Paper), more than 3300 students received two age-appropriate books featuring characters that reflected their diversity to take home over the summer and build their home libraries.

Reflecting on her experience with this campaign, a Wichita Public School 3rd Grade Teacher shares,

“I feel that it is critical for my students to be able to see characters in books that look like them. It gives students a sense of belonging. Because of Champions for Literacy, each student in my 3rd grade class received two age-appropriate books that featured diverse characters in a drawstring bag for them to take home and read over the summer. More than 90% of the students in my class receive free/reduced lunches, meaning many families do not have extra money for books at home. These books provide an opportunity for my students to practice their reading skills over the summer. Having access to books means fluency practice, comprehension, and building a love of reading.”

Books were delivered by United Way in partnership with several members from the Athletic Department at Wichita State, adding excitement and exposure for students who may very well be future Shockers!

As a high school sophomore, Andrew Jagoe knew he could make a difference in his hometown using the power of sports. So, he created a literacy fundraising campaign called “Hit the Books, Strikeout Illiteracy”. Andrew raised more than $3,500 through the Champions for Literacy platform, all to support students just like Alex.

Alex is one of the many students in Shelby County that struggles with reading. In fact, 81% of students in Shelby County Schools are not reading at the required reading level set forth by the state of Tennessee. That’s where STREETS comes in.

STREETS offers a summer academic enrichment and learning loss prevention camp for students. This camp offers students the ability to receive literacy training for five weeks during the summer. During those five weeks, students receive literacy programming through BookNook, an online literacy program designed to improve reading efficiency, vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Camp STREETS Smart consisted of 21 participating students, and those students finished the summer with the highest average sessions completed per student in the City of Memphis.

Who led all of Camp STREETS Smart in sessions completed? You guessed it, Alex. Alex came into camp reading at a 2^nd grade level and by the end of the camp, he had improved to a 4th grade level.

Alex left camp with a joy for reading, and Andrew left his campaign knowing the power to create impact even as a high schooler.

The heart and soul of Literacy Now has been and will continue to be our Reading Intervention program for struggling readers in K- 3rd grade throughout Houston and Aldine ISD Title 1 schools. This one-of-a-kind program provides 25 weeks of individualized small-group (4:1 ratio) reading instruction with the goal of creating proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade. The program utilizes research-based foundational skills curricula that are customizable to meet the needs of each student and highly trained, paid interventionists provide hands-on instruction that meet the students’ individual learning needs. And it works! At the end of the 22-23 school year, 1,300 students K-3 saw an average of 250% increase in their reading abilities.

Utilizing the Houston Cougars’ Fight for Literacy (basketball) Game, Literacy Now was able to raise $10,000 and expand their programming to reach more students in the 23-24 school year. Ken Kelly, Development Director for Literacy Now says,

“Funding provided by Champions for Literacy through the Game has had a tremendous impact on our ability to support struggling K-2nd-grade readers in the Houston area. Specifically, funds have allowed Literacy Now to deliver critical reading intervention programming to more children who need it most. We look forward to our continued partnership as together, we empower kids to read!”