You may recall the first winner of the Readers’ Choice Literacy Grant was READ, Reading Education Assistance Dogs. During a recent visit paid to our warehouse by Kathy Klotz, their executive director, I learned that November 14 has been designated National Reading Eduction Assistance Dogs Day. Got any good dogs in your life? Drop us a comment below.
SENATE RESOLUTION 338
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
RESOLUTIONDesignating November 14, 2009, as ‘“National Reading Education Assistance Dogs Day”
- Whereas reading provides children with an essential foundation for all future learning;
- Whereas the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program was founded in November of 1999 to improve the literacy skills of children through the mentoring assistance of trained, registered, and insured pet partner reading volunteer teams;
- Whereas children who participate in the R.E.A.D. program make significant improvements in fluency, comprehension, confidence, and many additional academic and social dimensions;
- Whereas the R.E.A.D. program now has an active presence in 49 States, 3 provinces in Canada, Europe, Asia, and beyond with more than 2,400 trained and registered volunteer teams participating and influencing thousands of children in classrooms and libraries across the Nation;
- Whereas the program has received awards and recognition from distinguished entities including the International Reading Association, the Delta Society, the Latham Foundation, the American Library Association, and PBS Television;
and
- Whereas the program has garnered enthusiastic coverage from national media, including major television networks NBC, CBS, and ABC, as well as international television and print coverage:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the R.E.A.D. program, designates November 14, 2009, as ‘“National Reading Education Assistance Dogs Day.”
