One of my favorite things about my job is getting to visit all of the wonderful Literacy Mentors we work with! We currently have 115 Literacy Mentors at 12 schools working with nearly 400 students across Fresno and Clovis. And with two scheduled Orientations in the next week, those numbers will continue to grow! However, what excites me much more than numbers is the investment and relationships of each individual mentor. Every day I hear an inspiring story. Here are just a few of my favorite success stories…

B and D gather for coffee or food every week after mentoring to debrief their work with kids and share ideas.

B wears a red sweater nearly every week because one of the students loves red. If she doesn’t wear it, he asks “where is your red sweater?”

Mrs. R is so grateful for the program. She asked, “Where did you find these volunteers?” and upon my answer said, “Oh, it’s because they’re working for God that they work so hard.”

M bought letter blocks to help students practice and is making a special book for a student who needs extra support. She even occasionally brings in treats for the whole class! 

S is seriously considering switching to an education major because of her time in the classroom.

E restocked the bin with stickers and copies of the SW takehome list on her own initiative.

S wants to come in another day just to support Ms. A in any way she can.

Mrs. T loves her two mentors. She wants the program to expand to the whole school.

Mrs. E likes “the box people.” (Literacy Mentors bring a box with tutoring tools everytime they visit the classroom.) She only wants the “box people” as volunteers next year.

S left the school in tears because she was so happy to be a part of a program.

Hoping that one boy would learn to read, L personally bought an entire kit to work with students who have dyslexia.

C brings index cards for kids to write their own flashcards to practice with- great idea! 

J and N meet to plan things for a student who is especially behind. At the beginning of first grade, he knew no letters but now he knows all of his letters and sounds!

Mrs. M loves her Literacy Mentors and their “boxes.” She likes that people are trained to do helpful work and she doesn’t have to manage them.

T and C meet up for coffee to chat about their students and how to support them.

Despite being a (broke) college student, L buys special treats for her kids each time they pass a new list.

S looks forward to Wednesdays so she can see and work with her students!

Mrs. K has really seen progress in kids’ sight word knowledge since starting the program in January.

Vice Principal R told three success stories:

• A foster child who never attended Kindergarten has caught up and almost finished a 1st-grade book.
• A boy who had almost no words at the beginning of the year is now on List 7!
• She saw a student who never focuses (and usually fails) working with his mentor- he was focused, smiling, and loving it. She had never seen him look so confident.

I am so thankful for all of our Literacy Mentors who are bringing this verse to life:

“Let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Keep on loving!