Asha-Jyothi has decided to partner with a non-profit organization called Our Kids Read. We need volunteers to serve as Reading Buddies in this remote reading program. Your hours will count toward the PVSA Award. See our 2022 PVSA awardees

Some info about the remote reading program:

  • Kids interested in becoming a Reading Buddy can register and follow the steps listed. 
  • Program is an 8 week program, with each reading session being 45 min long, you pick your preferred days/times. (Relax, you can reschedule a session,  if life happens and you are unable to attend). 
  • Fill up consent form(s) 
  • After registration, the reading volunteer can select books from the online library 
  • On the day of your session, sign up online, get to know your buddy and read the book

Information About Our Kids Read

Who We Are

Our Kids Read is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to sparking the love of reading in children from under-served communities at the earliest possible age.  We believe that learning to read and LOVING to read is fundamental to truly making a shift in the socio-economic status of people of color.

We are a 100% volunteer run organization.  The bulk of our operating expenses are related to the monthly Zoom fees required to sustain the hundreds of Reading Buddy sessions that we support.  

What We Do

Our Kids Read, through generous grants from the NY Public Library and other foundations, has donated 21,000 books to K-5th grade children of color over the last 4 months!  We donate books to children in under-served communities directly through our school-based book festivals (we bring books, storytellers, drummers and face painters to schools to get children excited about reading – at the end of the festival each child gets 3 books to take home with them, here is a video of an event we held last week: https://vimeo.com/765958875). 

We also offer a 1:1 reading program over Microsoft Teams where volunteers from Microsoft, Amazon and Google read diverse books with students who are behind in their reading (here is an example of a bi-lingual Reading Buddy session:  https://vimeo.com/709747333).