Triniti, a soon-to-be fourth grader at Comstock’s Green Meadow Elementary School, grinned when she thought about her favorite book from the school year.

“Amelia Bedelia,” she said. “The one when she goes to camp.”

Triniti was one of dozens of students this year to be paired with a volunteer Reading Buddy as part of Kalamazoo RESA’s Reading Mentorship Program, funded by United Way as a strategy to improve early grade reading.

Students participating in the program range from kindergarten to third grade in three schools – Green Meadow, Comstock North, and Galesburg-Augusta Primary. Volunteers go through training with KRESA staff at the start of each school year, and are then matched with two or more reading buddies for weekly one-on-one visits.

Triniti’s mother, Patricia, is a paraprofessional at the school. She has seen the benefits with her own daughter as well as other students.

“They seem engaged, they seem like they have fun, and the kids actually participate,” she said. “Just having that outside face helps. I think that’s nice for them.”

Reading is not always easy, Trinity said.

“Sometimes when I go too fast, I just mess up the words,” she said.

Her mother was quick to point out how much her daughter has improved, in speed as well as in her vocabulary. She’s reading more difficult books with harder words than at the beginning of the year, and looks forward to much more reading over the summer.

“It’s a good thing,” Patricia said.

To become a Reading Buddy in the fall, simply fill out a volunteer application and get ready to impact a young reader’s life!