October 31, 2024 3:30 a.m.

The SMART Reading program is entering its 33rd year and plans to reach 1,400 students and give away more than 20,000 books in the Southwest area, which includes Coos, Curry and Douglas counties, during the 2024-25 school year.

A SMART release said data collected from teachers annually shows that 90 percent of students who participate in SMART improve in comprehension, vocabulary development, motivation, enjoyment and other key metrics.

The organization needs volunteers to fill two important roles in order to meet those goals:

*Readers who commit one hour a week to reading with a child or classroom at a local school.

*Site coordinators who commit 2-8 hours per week to act as SMART’s on-the-ground leads at each site, overseeing and implementing the weekly reading sessions.

Area Director Della Harp said, “Volunteering with SMART Reading is a fun, meaningful way to impact kids right here in our community”. Harp said, “I regularly have volunteers tell me that the hour they spend at SMART is the best part of their week”.

Help is needed at over a dozen schools around the county. To learn more about the experience, contact the local SMART office at 672-6477 or at www.smartreading.com.