Volunteer Tutoring Helps Children Learn to Read

Rapidly Expanding Read with Me Volunteer Programs Provides Volunteer Tutoring to Local Children for 20 Years

Twenty years ago, Roberta and Clay Klein had a vision to find a way to rectify the critical need to recruit retired professionals as volunteers to assist local school children from limited English-speaking environments in East Coachella Valley.  The goal was to help these kids develop to their fullest potential by not only learning to read better but also to comprehend and speak English.  If a child isn’t reading at grade level by third grade, they most likely will drop out of school armed with a dim future, possibly in crime.  In 2004 only 51% of the students graduated.

Roberta and Clay’s vision turned into a reality in 2004 when they launched a ministry at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert to provide a few volunteers to one school, Mecca Elementary, which quickly led to the founding of Read With Me Volunteer Programs (RWM).

“Today we are a non-profit organization providing 600 volunteers to 22 schools,” proudly states Founder Roberta Klein.  “Over the years, Read With Me Volunteer Programs has helped hundreds of disadvantaged children lead more productive lives.”

Having six hundred volunteers on the RWM team may seem like a lot of individuals donating time to the cause; however, believe it or not, more volunteers are urgently needed to fill the many openings at several elementary schools, especially in the upcoming 2024-25 school year.  This is why a Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator, Erin Hyland, was recently hired. The one thing that never changes is the need for volunteers.

Hyland comes with a very impressive background.  Her current career involvements include 2024-25 President of Leadership Coachella Valley; a board member of GCVCC Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; The Animal Rescue Center of California Volunteer; Desert Hot Springs Animal Care & Control No-Kill Shelters volunteer; and a volunteer for Parkinson’s Resource.

“Erin has been a valuable addition to the Read With Me Volunteer team,” says Executive Director Sean Webb.  “She has played a crucial role in introducing our organization to several new service organizations and community groups that we have never partnered with before.  We look forward to Erin’s leadership in expanding our volunteer base.”

Erin was born and raised in the Coachella Valley.  She is a graduate of San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts Major in Business Communications and a Minor in Sociology, as well as a highly respected community engagement and communications liaison, marketing manager, and director of community relationships and events.  She serves on the Board of Directors for the Animal Rescue Center of California and was appointed as the Chair of the Parks and Community Events Commission for Cathedral City (since 2021), which marries her passion for children and community with civic engagement and innovative event planning.  Along with her RWM recruiting duties, Erin also is one of the RWM volunteers at Van Buren Elementary School.  Her direct experience as a RWM volunteer has enabled her to better appreciate the role of volunteers who help tutor students.

So far,” says Erin, “I have been extremely impressed by the immeasurable impact that our organization has had on our underprivileged schoolchildren experiencing our programs. As a result, there has been a 66% increase in test scores and genuine connections with volunteers in the classrooms. I got to tutor a wonderful eight-year-old at Van Buren Elementary School who dreams of becoming an engineer. He shared with me that he takes his Read With Me books home where he then becomes the instructor and tutors his parents and siblings in English. He even helped his parents fill out job applications and help his younger siblings with their homework. It is a win-win situation.”

To become an RWMVP volunteer, please go to https://www.readwithmevolunteers.com/or call Rachel Luiz at 760-567-1830.

Editor’s note: Photos provided by Read With Me Volunteers