$12,000 Matching Challenge!

**Support early literacy in Franklin & Hampshire Counties**

Literacy is the foundation of all educational achievement. That is why United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region's Read! Learn! Succeed! program is designed to help build literacy and language skills in early childhood, increase children's exposure to books at school and home, and offer families information and tools to support early reading skill development.

In order to support this important initiative, the following individuals and businesses have joined forces to create a challenge grant: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Greenfield Savings Bank, Marisa Labozzetta and Martin Wohl, PeoplesBank, and The Berry Foundation. Together, they will match every dollar donated to this program, up to $12,000.00. That means, you have the opportunity to double the impact of your contribution!

Give Today

Calling all readers, book lovers, and supporters of early literacy education!

From October 2023 through May 2024, United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region is supporting our region’s schools and early ed programs with another year of Read! Learn! Succeed! early literacy programming. The initiative is in its 12th year in Franklin County, and we’re excited to expand into Hampshire County classrooms for the first time!

Volunteers can help by reading aloud once a month in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. We can always use substitute readers, as well. If interested, please send an email to program@uw-fh.org or call 413-584-3962 x102.

Collection of children's books from the RLS program on a shelf — 3,319 books

**were distributed to local students and teachers during the 2022-2023 school year!**

About the Program

Launched in 2012, Read! Learn! Succeed! is United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region’s early reading initiative. For the 2023-2024 school year, UWFH coordinates a monthly story time in 35 early education classrooms across 13 local school sites, serving nearly 500 students. Dedicated volunteers from our communities present and facilitate a conversation about each book and afterward, each child receives a copy of the book to keep and add to their home library. The high-interest books focus on themes that align with UWFH values and mission, including diversity, kindness, and ways to help one’s community.

Take a look at our distributed books from the last few years:

A child’s access to books fosters a positive relationship with literacy. Read! Learn! Succeed! is designed to build literacy and language skills in early childhood, increase children’s access to books at home, and increase guardians’ access to information and tools of early reading skill development. Through shared love of reading and storytelling, volunteers act as role models by demonstrating the importance of literacy and community engagement to young children across the region.

Read! Learn! Succeed! has distributed over 35,000 books to children and teachers in our region since 2012.

Why Early Reading?

The future of our community rests on its people, especially the next generation. Working together, we can make a real difference in getting kids off to a good start in school! Research has shown that children who have early and frequent access to reading and books reach higher levels of education than those who do not. Early reading support is a simple, common-sense solution, but the stakes are high.

Read-alouds with adults are a critical piece of learning how to read.
Read-alouds with adults support mental health and security for children.
Children with early access to a wide variety of literature in their immediate environment demonstrate stronger academic skills in school.
Parents and guardians who better understand reading skill development are better equipped to support their children.
As schools work to remedy learning gaps exacerbated by pandemic challenges, reading support is needed more than ever.