THE GALLERY: GRAND BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Room to Read Partnership. Below: Dr. Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read, a global nonprofit focused on children’s literacy and girls’ edu- cation, discussed the launch of the new partnership with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The partnership builds on both organizations’ com- mitment to education, creating a new program, Hands-on-Books, that brings Room to Read’s best practices in children’s literacy and reading, into the communities and classrooms that Kappa Alpha Psi, mentors. Between December 2019 and April 2020, undergraduate brothers from 24 chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi ® will volunteer in select primary school libraries, to read to children with Room to Read published books. Holding bi-monthly reading and learning sessions, the undergraduate members will utilize Room to Read’s best practices to read with students, engage with them and their learning, and support them as they build their reading and comprehension skills. The program is modeled on components of Room to Read’s innovative Literacy Program, which ensures primary schools have libraries filled with books in the children’s local languages, as well as teachers and librarians trained on how to engage classrooms of eager, young learners.
The partnership expands on the respective missions of both Room to Read and Kappa Alpha Psi and highlights the collective agency needed to address issues of illiteracy and children’s education around the world. Currently, as many as 44 million (23%) adults in the United States are functionally illiterate, lacking basic skills beyond a fourth-grade level – this is a problem that can be solved and the challenge at the core of Room to Read and Kappa Alpha Psi partner- ship. “Room to Read’s partnership with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. opens the door for hundreds of children in the US to engage with books and literacy in a way that transforms their lives,” said Dr. Murali. “Literacy is the building block for education, and it is a prerequisite in ensuring children become life-long, independent readers. We are proud to partner with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, and impact the lives of children for the better through the Hands-on- Books program.” The Hands-on-Books program marks Room to Read’s first domestic project. The program should reach between 500-700 students around the country by June 2020, as both Room to Read and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, partner to improve the love of reading and literacy skills of students nationally. In April 2020, Kappa Alpha Psi will host a Room to Read Day across its campuses around the nation, celebrating the Hands-on-Books program and the impact it has made around the United States.
THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2019 | 19
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