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United Way Blog

United Way VISTAs Lead the Fight against Summer Slide

United Way AmeriCorps VISTA Nicole Delaney jumped right into her service year at United Way of Lake County (Gurnee, Illinois), using a grant from United Way Worldwide to host a parent night for “Kindergarten Countdown Camp.” Nicole is one of ten VISTAs who received grants from United Way to support events promoting summer learning on or around United Way’s Day of Action and Summer Learning Day. For several VISTAs like Nicole, placed in Campaign for Grade-Level Reading communities in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, these events were only the start of a summer filled with opportunities for students to have fun and avoid the summer slide.

Kindergarten Countdown Camp is a 12-day program for incoming kindergarten students with little or no preschool experience. In addition to coordinating parents’ night, Nicole immersed herself in the program by reaching out to families, staying involved in the classroom and tracking student assessment progress and parents’ feedback via surveys.

Another VISTA, Chandler Duff, plays a key role in the outreach, operations and promotions of United Way of Lane County’s Summer Reading Spots. The program was developed in 2010 in Springfield, OR to combine volunteer-led story times with FOOD for Lane County’s Summer Lunch Program. Chandler used the United Way grant to add an extra dose of excitement to the “Dive Into Reading”-themed kickoff events with activities including decorating Rainbow Fish, fishing for alphabet letters and taking pictures in a shark’s mouth (cut-out display).   By the mid-point of the 10-week initiative, 277 students had already been engaged and 53 volunteers supported the effort, including Thomas Monroe, Mayor of Cottage Grove, OR and groups from local organizations and businesses.

On Day of Action, VISTA Nick Chambers of United Way of Pierce County (Tacoma, WA) focused his efforts on leading volunteer groups in the construction of 11 Little Free Libraries. Nick used the grant to secure the materials for the project, supervised volunteers and provided assistance in building the libraries. Some of these volunteers also chose to volunteer with United Way of Pierce County’s Summer Learning Initiative. For this program, which Nick also helps coordinate, a group of volunteers visits five summer meal sites once a week to engage students in a learning activity and provide them with books to take home.

These are just a few examples of how United Way VISTA volunteers are supporting efforts to help young students thrive in the early grades, stay in school and graduate. You don’t have to dedicate a year of your life -- like these young adults are doing -- to make a difference. Contact your local United Way to find out how to get involved. Whether you volunteer a little or a lot, you too can help stop summer slide and support learning all year long.