Program Highlight: Early Reading Success

Last year, our Reading Success Program launched a new initiative called Early Reading Success, a program developed to expose kindergarten students to the basics of reading. In this initiative, trained volunteers read stories to small groups of children and lead them in a short activity related to what they have just read.

Early Reading Success just completed its school year in three Waukegan elementary schools, serving about 75 students. All students, in participating classrooms, went home at the end of the year with a summer practice packet (pictured above) and book to continue their love of reading and learning during the summer months, and to prevent summer slide.

Check out our recent blog article to learn more about summer slide and how United Way is helping prevent summer learning loss in Lake County.

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Join in on the Summer FUNdraiser!

Women United invites you to the North Shore Distillery on Saturday, August 4 for a fun night of custom cocktails (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), bingo, a 50/50 raffle, silent auction, distillery tour, prizes and a cocktail making demonstration! This event is for both men and women.

All proceeds will support critical early prevention and early literacy programs through their Little Kids, Big Futures Fund. Since 2014, Women United has distributed over $370,000 to worthy nonprofits to ensure children living in Lake County’s most vulnerable communities are prepared for kindergarten and ready to succeed.

Tickets are now on sale! Click below to reserve your spot by July 24.

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Volunteers in Action: AbbVie

On May 30, a group of more than 40 volunteers from AbbVie helped revitalize One Hope United’s Lake Villa location. AbbVie employees spent their day painting, cleaning, building a fence, organizing the library and beautifying the grounds. Thank you, AbbVie, for making a difference in Lake County!

Watch a slideshow of photos from the volunteer event by clicking below.

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Preventing the “Summer Slide”

Over the course of the summer, idle, low-income students lose two to three months worth of reading skills compared to students who are not low-income. Some call this “summer slide”. To address summer slide, we developed Kindergarten Countdown Camp (KCC), an initiative under our Success By 6 Program, designed to bridge the gap for Lake County’s youngest learners.

The free camps are open to incoming kindergartners with little to no preschool experience nor have been in a classroom setting. At KCC, licensed teachers focus on teaching children the basic skills needed for Kindergarten, such as knowing their letters, numbers and how to write their name. The children learn the routine of school, develop new skills, meet new friends and realize they can succeed in a school setting.

Preventing summer slide is a considerable factor in ensuring all Lake County children are on a pathway to future success. Click below to read the full article.

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Program Highlight: Better Together

Our Success By 6 Program’s Better Together initiative just completed its spring sessions at Green Bay Early Childhood Center in North Chicago. Since its inception, Better Together has provided a community for parents to learn how to be their child’s first teacher and provide a safe place where children (birth to three) can develop the readiness, physical and cognitive skills crucial to their education.

In July, Better Together will begin its summer sessions that will include interesting and fun activities to help prepare participating children for future school success. If you know of someone who is interested in attending a weekly class of learning, playing and developing school readiness skills with their child, age birth to three, contact Rosa Herrera at rosa.herrera@uwlakeco.org.

To learn more about Better Together summer sessions, click below.

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A Lovely Thank You to Women United

Women United recently received a very thoughtful thank you video from the B.E.S.T. Pre-K Program, one of their philanthropy fund grantees! Women United’s funding will continue to allow this Round Lake Area Park District program to provide 20 scholarships for children who otherwise would not have access to preschool. We are always excited to see more opportunities for children to get prepared for kindergarten and ready to learn.

Check out the video below!

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