SMART Reading is a children’s literacy nonprofit that serves kids in Oregon’s highest-need schools with two ingredients critical for literacy and learning success: shared reading time and access to books. In our Shared Reading programs, we mobilize volunteers to read with Preschool through third-grade children, building confidence, literacy skills, and a love of reading. Kids in our shared reading programs get to choose and keep 14 books a year to build their own personal libraries! We also accept new and gently used book donations from the community, then organize volunteers to sort, clean, and distribute children’s books. Cleaned and new books are distributed at free school-wide book fairs and community events. To distribute the new and gently used books, we join with literacy partners like schools, clinics, Head Start programs, and other organizations that support literacy development for underserved children and families.

Simply put, life is harder when children can’t read proficiently. Reading is a critical gateway skill that paves the pathway for successful futures. Without it, kids are less likely to graduate from high school or find gainful employment as adults, leading to a host of additional hardships. Building a strong foundation of literacy can change a child’s life trajectory, and can help prevent and alleviate issues of poverty, homelessness, hunger, and injustice.