Reading volunteers needed for Manatee schools

United Way of Manatee County is seeking volunteers to read to pre-kindergarten students in local schools.

United Way of Manatee County is celebrating its fifth year of the ReadingPals initiative. ReadingPals focuses on increasing the number of students who are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.

Community volunteers work in school classrooms to foster a relationship with pre-kindergarten students that focuses on vocabulary exposure and expansion, reading comprehension and developing a love for learning from books.

This year, ReadingPals has doubled the program to include six schools, 12 classrooms and 231 children.

The program is looking for volunteers to serve as part of a statewide initiative to help young children learn to read at grade level. To volunteer, visit http://www.handsonmanatee.org

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 4:50 PM.