Volunteer Sarah Martin at the Dwelling Place homeless shelter armed with a smile and a bag of books.
REACH: Bringing Books to Homeless Children
"The reading lady is here," hollers the first child to spy Martin. Soon she is surrounded by children eager to explore the world of books. The Norfolk resident is one of more than 120 volunteers who support the REACH Foundation's programs in six area homeless shelters. The reading program started in 1998 in one shelter. Each year, volunteers read to more than 500 children living in family shelters. Their mission is simple -- read to children who live there.
Afterwards, the volunteers guide the children as they create crafts related to the stories they have heard. At the end of each session, each child leaves with several new books to share with their families.
"REACH is a wonderful addition to the programs available to our families," says Trish Manthey, executive director of The Dwelling Place's two Norfolk shelters. "It is a niche program that creatively fills a need. The children, their parents and the staff look forward to the program each week."
Text and photo credit: The Norfolk Foundation