For The Love of Reading Book Drive!
I have been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, and I am excited to earn my Gold Award in high school! The Gold Award is a sustainable community service and leadership project about an issue of our choice that impacts our community or the world. I had a difficult time deciding what to pursue because there are many great options, but ultimately I had to look back to what has interested me from the beginning. I thought back in time to find what I have always enjoyed doing, even when no one is making me do so. That thing was reading! I have always loved reading, ever since I was a kindergarten because it was a way I could learn new things on my own. When I thought about the many kids who cannot confidently read, I knew this was the right project for me! From there on, I dedicated time and research to exploring illiteracy and the School to Prison Pipeline. The statistics are astounding! According to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, one in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that for proficient readers. This issue must be addressed during childhood, so students are more successful in the future academically and holistically.
My inspiration for this book drive also came from my experience learning Spanish since the seventh grade. I have found that learning another language increases my cultural awareness and global perspective immensely than just being monolingual. I wanted to give children some exposure to multiple cultures they may not have any prior knowledge over so that they can choose to explore more in the future.
This is my first update on my Gold Award Series- check back for following posts on my journey!
