What is Everybody Wins! Vermont?
By creating mentoring relationships that foster a love of reading and language, Everybody Wins! Vermont increases children’s prospects for success and engages a diverse range of volunteers in their community schools.
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The Program is Simple
Through our Power Breakfast and Power Lunch programs, adult volunteers are paired with students at local elementary schools to promote reading for pleasure, to build the children’s self-confidence and enhance their self-esteem, and to serve as caring role models. The pairs meet weekly to share books and develop lasting relationships.
Since opening our first two sites in October 2000, EW! VT has grown to become Vermont’s largest mentoring organization. As of January 2010, we are serving more than 600 students and their mentors at 21 schools.
We are a literacy-based mentoring program
Why Literacy? The more children read, the better readers they become; the better readers they become, the more they want to read. Research shows that children who read well tend to achieve more academically, enjoy school more, and stay in school. EW! VT is not a tutoring program. Rather, our approach is to help children develop and practice literacy skills by helping them experience the pleasure of reading good books in a one-to-one, noncompetitive setting.
Why Mentoring? Our goal of helping children read more and better is inextricably linked to building strong mentoring relationships. Studies indicate that children who have mentors tend to do better in school; stay in school; have a better sense of their place and importance as community members; have better relationships at home; have higher self-esteem; avoid risky behaviors; and become volunteers as adults.The Crisis
One of the most critical problems facing our country today is illiteracy. Our national standard of living and the ability for our country to successfully compete in a global economy are at stake if American young people are unable to read. Consider the following statistics:
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According to national surveys, roughly one in five American children grows up functionally illiterate.
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The effects on the American workforce are staggering, with American businesses spending more than $200 billion annually to teach remedial reading and math skills to their employees.
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More than one in four Vermont kindergarten students are not ready to participate successfully in school.
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The social costs of incarceration and welfare are directly related to functional illiteracy.
Our Success
Eighty percent of responding parents of the students participating in the 2006-2007 EW!VT program found that their child demonstrated a better attitude about reading and increased self-confidence. Nearly 70 percent of responding teachers stated that participating students' enthusiasm for reading was improved or greatly improved; 64 percent stated that participating students had an improved or greatly improved ability to discuss books and ideas. Furthermore, 98 percent of the mentors stated that EW! Vermont met or surpassed their expectations.
President: Beth Fastiggi, FairPoint Communications
Vice President: Anne McGrath, Verizon
Secretary: Anne D'Aveni, Mascoma Savings Bank
Treasurer: Christopher Halnon, TD Banknorth
Members:
Bonnie Bourne, Mary Hogan School
John Dilts
Christian Keidel, Starbucks Coffee Company
Sheila McCutcheon, Chittenden Bank
Ellen Miles
Leslie Colis Ward
James Jeffords, Honorary Chair
Executive Director, Everybody Wins! Vermont:
Amy Cunningham
Everybody Wins! Vermont | 25 School Street, P.O. Box 34 | Montpelier, VT 05601
Phone: (802) 229-BOOK (2665) | FAX: (802) 229-1010
info@everybodywinsvermont.org
