“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” Mason Cooley says as he explains the sensation of opening a good book. Much like Cooley describes, the Children’s Literacy Center’s (CLC) main mission is to show kids the feeling of being able to understand and enjoy a good book. CLC is an efficient non-profit organization which aims to aid elementary aged kids who are reading under grade level. Believe it or not, it works!

CLC has a 95% success rate from just about the start of time. It began in Colorado with just one location and 62 students in 1993 and since then has grown to presently 16 sites in Colorado serving more than 900 students annually. The program depends on its tutors and their dedication and is constantly in search of more tutors who are willing to help out. Becoming a tutor is as easy as ever. It just takes a quick sign up on the official CLC website and from there tutors have to either take a quick, easy online course or go into one of the numerous locations to do a training there. At that point, they will be placed in a convenient location to begin tutoring a child. Thousands of children are at risk of failing school seeing as, “Approximately 27 percent of third grade students in Colorado fail to meet state reading standards.” according to CLC’s official site. CLC and its volunteers are the key to lowering these statistics one child at a time.

Although proven extremely successful, Children’s Literacy Center still has a never ending waiting list of students needing this crucial assistance. CLC’s main mission is “Building a life of success through a foundation of literacy…one child at a time.”  This is a challenge to complete when they are without tutors for every child who is in need of this truly life changing experience. Being unable to read and fully comprehend a piece of writing is a struggle for children of all ages and it only gets worse with time. CLC is attempting to overcome this obstacle by expanding their base of volunteers and donations.

Children’s Literacy Center urges people as young as 14 and to no limit beyond to make a difference in the community and sign up to be a volunteer. Knowing that schedules are always jam-packed, making a donation, no matter the size is always another way to help. The Children’s Literacy Center along with the famous writer, Roald Dahl hope to inspire people to “Please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your T.V. set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”