Page 50 August 2 014 It takes a million – minutes, that is By Michelle Donati-Grayman During my elementary school years, my grandmother took my sisters and I once a week to visit Saguaro Library. There, I met characters such as Amelia Bedelia and Ramona Quimby who helped cultivate my imagination and develop a lifelong love of learning. Because of my upbringing, I naively assumed most children experienced something similar. However, after receiving an email from Valley of the Sun United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council last year, I realized I was wrong. Exposure to books is critical to a child’s academic success. In fact, third grade marks a milestone when children shift from learning to read and begin reading to learn. Students who haven’t mastered reading by then often struggle in the classroom and are at risk of dropping out of school. To address this issue, VSUW’s Women’s Leadership Council launched the Million Minutes Challenge in May 2013. The goal was ambitious yet simple: Recruit volunteers to log one million minutes of reading to school-age children in the valley to spark awareness and improve literacy skills. “This effort really opened the door to the general public being aware of the importance of reading even one time a week to a child,” said Brooke Toles- Johnson, Read-On Manager at Valley of the Sun United Way. Over the past year, more than 1,000 readers – including several Arcadians – rose to the challenge, exceeding the goal by logging more than 7 million minutes of reading to more than 14,000 valley children. UMOM New Day Centers is Arizona’s largest homeless shelter for families. For more than 14 years, the agency has hosted Read to Me, a weekly event that provides an opportunity for community volunteers to read to the children who live at the shelter. The nonprofit experienced a spike in the number of community volunteers during the challenge, according to Aly Wood, volunteer coordinator at UMOM. “We had more volunteers coming to the program who were eager to read and spend one-on-one time with our children,” Wood said. “We had several volunteers who were introduced to UMOM and Read to Me because of our involvement in the Million Minutes Challenge.” The Million Minutes Challenge may be over, but there is still work to do. “We will continue to work with our communities, partnering organizations and volunteers together in the work of increasing literacy rates of children in Arizona,” Toles-Johnson said. There are several ways to get involved, for more information, visit them online: umom.org/get-involved. DUI CLASSES ONLINE! 3200 N Hayden Rd ~ Suite 170 - Just South of Osborn Rd 480.429.9044 WOW! ONLINE DUI SERVICES! SCOTTSDALETREATMENT.COM ARIZONA’S FIRST ONLINE DUI SERVICES HOME • OFFICE • TRAVEL ANYWHERE YOU CAN “LOG ON!” ONLINE SERVICES: MVD • SR-22 ALCOHOL SCREENINGS, EDUCATION & TREATMENT ARIZONA’S FIRST ONLINE DUI SERVICES Compare our rates. CALL US LAST! look good. feel good. be happy. FIRST CLASS FREE Offering Pilates, Barre, and Zumba. TWO WEEKS OF UNLIMITED CLASSES FOR $30. Offer valid for new clients only. www.PivotPilatesPhx.com ● info@pivotpilatesphx.com 480-216-3804 ● Located inside Bricks Studio