Become a Mentor
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Volunteer Reading Mentors are the key to inspiring our students to become lifelong readers and future leaders.
Read to a Child provides caring adults with a flexible, convenient, and meaningful volunteer experience. The Read Aloud Mentoring Program is a simple, structured program that is widely accessible and has considerable impact on the literacy skills and socio-emotional well-being in the students we serve. Join Read to a Child as we merge the magic of the read aloud experience with the power of positive mentoring and unlock the potential in our students to be the best they can be in school and beyond.
How it All Works
1. Meet the requirements to volunteer.
You must be at least 18 years old, able to make the weekly time commitment (or biweekly, where offered) during a weekday lunchtime, and you must live within reasonable commuting range of one of our partner schools.
2. Apply to become a mentor.
Contact your company point person if your company partners with Read to a Child, or fill out this volunteer interest form if you are interested in participating as an individual community volunteer. If you work for a company that is interested in partnering with Read to a Child, click here for information on our Corporate Partner Program.
3. Complete our quick and easy online training.
Once your application is complete, you will receive an invitation to complete our online training to get to know more about the Read Aloud Mentoring Program and your role as a volunteer reading mentor. It’s quick, informative, and valuable!
4. Complete a background check.
You will have one or more steps to complete background checks required by Read to a Child and/or your local district, including any other local enrollment requirements.
5. Match with a student.
We will match you with a student who has been referred by their teacher and would benefit from the Read Aloud Mentoring Program.
6. Begin reading!
With help from our Program Coordinators, you will schedule your first session. We provide a wide variety of appropriate, high quality books to choose from. Our Coordinators will be there to guide you along the way.
Read to a Child primarily works with socially-minded organizations looking to impact their communities through an employee volunteer program. If you work for one of our corporate partners, contact your company point person and tell them that you’d like to make a difference by reading aloud to a child. If not, recommend our program to the appropriate leaders in your organization and suggest they check out our website. If you are not associated with a partnering company, you may fill out the below form to indicate your interest in becoming a community volunteer.
Please note that not all locations have the capacity to accept individual volunteers at this time.
If you are not associated with a partnering company, you may fill out the Volunteer Interest Form below.
Have additional questions? Visit our FAQ page.