Greater Miami

Read to a Child Official Statement on Miami Region 4/19/2024

It is with a heavy heart that Read to a Child leadership and board of directors have made the difficult decision to cease regional operations in Miami at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

For more than 10 years, Read to a Child has invested in supporting and growing its program operations in Greater Miami.  We are proud to have served hundreds of reading pairs, however, we have simply not gained traction nor been able to grow the program.  In addition, regional operating expenses outpaced fundraising, despite the passionate efforts of many dedicated staff, regional board members and other stakeholders.

In the post-pandemic world, it has been increasingly critical for Read to a Child to execute against a strategic plan that emphasizes short and long-term sustainability in an evolving fundraising landscape and during a time of increased program costs and economic uncertainties.  Now, more than ever, we must invest every donor dollar in the most efficient way possible to serve even more students in the Read Aloud Mentoring Program. Therefore, the organization will now focus its limited resources on regions that have displayed a greater potential for growth.

Read to a Child’s two staff members who work exclusively in the Greater Miami region will have the opportunity to remain with the organization in similar roles supporting other regions virtually.  The organization has notified and provided guidance to its 60 dedicated volunteer reading mentors more than a month before the end of the school year – providing mentors time for individual closure with the wonderful students in the two programs at the Pine Lake Elementary School and the Downtown Miami Charter School.

We want to thank our regional board of advisors, our primary funding partners Assurant, Holland & Knight LLP, Kirk Foundation and Batchelor Foundation, as well as our school partners at the Pine Lake Elementary School and the Downtown Miami Charter School for their years of support.

Most especially we would like to thank the many loyal and dedicated volunteer reading mentors over the years for the passion, time and energy that they have devoted to the students in our program.  The impact they have made on the lives of their reading buddies, as well as the broader community, is significant and appreciated.