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Reading Mentor (Reading Buddy)
The foundational volunteer in a school partnership is the Reading Mentor (Reading Buddy). The qualifications for this role are simple:
- Able to make time (usually one hour, once a week for one school year.)
- Able to read. No college diploma is necessary. Functional reading will do.
- Able to pass a background check.
Literacy Champion
This is your hands-on coordinator of the Literacy Partnership. The Literacy Champion (LC) will be chosen based on their passion for the issue of illiteracy, their organizational skills, and their ability to communicate (interpersonally and digitally).
Their responsibilities will include:
- Recruiting reading mentors.
- On-boarding new volunteers.
- Coordinating with the school and/or literacy organization.
- Ongoing communication and encouragement to all volunteers and leaders.
- Updating the entire organization so everyone feels connected to the cause.
(Note: as your partnership grows, the Literacy Champion will most likely become a team of leaders.)
Literacy Flag-Bearer
This is the leader of the organization, be it the CEO, the Site Manager, the Pastor, or the Executive Director. While the leader's responsibilities may not allow them to faithfully mentor a child for one hour a week, the leader still has an essential role. They provide institutional encouragement to volunteer and are the head cheerleaders for the cause.
There is an undeniable impact when the organizational leader waves the flag of early childhood literacy.
Literacy Contact
This is the most important ally of the Literacy Champion. If your organization (business, church, etc.) is volunteering through a local literacy organization, then they will provide your LC with primary contact information. If you work directly with the school, the school will assign your LC a volunteer coordinator.
School Volunteer Facilitator
Whether or not you work through a literacy organization, your Literacy Champion will also want to know who the chief contact is inside your school partner(s).
Note: Some caring members of your organization may not be able to be a hands-on reading mentor for any one of several reasons. There are still ways they can support the Literacy Champion and the other volunteers. They can help recruit, write, and update newsletters, collect stories, or provide creative support. One great thing about early childhood literacy is that it is an organization-wide initiative.
