Wells Fargo Foundation will present a check for the grant on March 22, 2019
The Wells Fargo Foundation has announced United Way of Berks County and its Ready.Set.READ! initiative as the recipient of a $50,000 grant in support of work centered on early grade reading proficiency. The initiative includes several components, including Growing Readers, which focuses on building the foundation for literacy and reading with PreK children, and the Star Readers program, connecting trained volunteer tutors with first, second and third graders needing supplemental reading support. Nearly 450 volunteer tutors work with close to 500 elementary students in 30 schools within 13 Berks County school districts. Ready.Set.READ! also serves as the backbone organization for the Berks Summer Learning Coalition, which expands literacy opportunities to help children avoid summer learning loss.
“We are proud of our commitment to United Way of Berks County” said Lynn Eagleson, SVP/Loan Team Leader, Middle Market Commercial Bank – Greater PA, Wells Fargo. “This grant will help increase children’s reading skills and better position the students for greater academic success. United Way is a leader in working towards this issue and possesses strong partnerships with the educational community, volunteers and community partners invested in advancing this work. We are excited to be a part of this effort.”
“The issue of early learning and literacy impacts our entire community,” notes Tammy White, President of United Way of Berks County. We value the Wells Fargo Foundation’s support in helping build a stronger path of success for our community’s children and shaping a brighter future for our county.”
