Motivating Children to Read in Argentina
Almost 500 children who attend two schools in at-risk communities of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will be using special Reading Corners, thanks to a Verizon Foundation grant resulting from a request by Verizon Business employees who work in the area.
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In this picture people are: (from left to right)
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The Verizon Foundation presented the $15,000 grant, an extension of the grant given in 2007, to Fundacion Leer to complete the Reading Corner in the Mariano Acosta School. The donation will also pay for a second Reading Corner in another school selected this year.
Fundacion Leer is addressing low literacy rates among children in Argentina by working with teachers, community leaders, parents and volunteers to bring books to children and help them develop a love of reading. Fundacion Leer partners with Reading is Fundamental, Inc. in the United States.
The Reading Corners in the schools are intended to increase community awareness of the importance of reading and literacy for the future success of their children. Verizon Business employees volunteer to help build the Reading Corners in the selected schools, and they also participate in literacy activities, including reading with the children.
Teachers at these selected schools receive training in innovative teaching practices and motivational activities to improve literacy and maximize the potential of the Reading Corners to boost the children's literacy achievement.
"Improving the literacy levels and educational achievement of children is one of the Verizon Foundation's primary goals," said Patrick Gaston, Verizon Foundation president. "We are happy to support the important efforts of Fundacion Leer to prepare these children for success in the 21st century."
