I’ve always enjoyed books. I was that kid that hid under the covers with a flashlight until the wee hours of the night speeding through book after book. Although it was part of life to always have a book in hand, I never realized how much of an impact a book can have on a person’s life until I volunteered with a program in Marion, Ohio called “Let’s Read 20.”

It was a summer program that I saw as an opportunity to get some volunteer hours to make for a good resume and have fun doing it. The Let’s Read 20 program's goal was to build a community of readers and stress the message that reading 20 minutes a day could make a world of difference in a child’s life. I ended up getting a lot more than volunteer hours and a good time out of the Let’s Read 20 program.

I realized how far just a little bit of help can go when it comes to teaching little ones to read.
I was very shaky at first when the kids would ask me to help them read; I had no idea what I was doing. Do I just speak slowly? Do I just sound out the words for them in hopes that they understand? Do I try to make them do it themselves? I was simply clueless on how to go about this. I tried a lot of methods and none of them were perfect, but once they could read even a sentence you could see the confidence in themselves go through the roof. Just a little bit of help boosted their hopes in taking on the challenge of reading.

There truly is nothing better than seeing the innocence of a child's smile.
Everyone smiles; whether it’s fake or real is what raises questions. There is no question of the innocence of a child’s genuine smile. You know when they are happy. There is no guessing and playing games. Seeing these children’s genuine smiles with books in their hands is one of those little things that just keeps the world spinning.

It opened my mind to how far a little bit can go.
I can’t tell you how thankful the children and the parents were to have an opportunity to be involved in reading. Giving away an old Dr. Seuss book can seem like the smallest thing but to them, it means the world. I never knew what a difference One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish or Green Eggs and Ham could make. It was truly amazing.

There is no feeling that can replace the feeling of knowing you made a difference.
Even if it was just a little difference, I am so happy I chose to help contribute to building a community of readers. I can only hope I have instilled the importance of reading into all of their little brains.

It was a validation that reading is still cool and a book is the best gift you could give.
I would gather up a group of youngsters and read a variety of books; airplane books, animal books, Dr. Seuss, Magic School Bus, anything. They would all listen intently with wide eyes and at the very end become disappointed that the story was over. This is when I would tell them they could pick a book out to take home with them. You would have thought I told them I had cake and ice cream for everyone but no, it really was just the books they were excited to gobble up and take home.

I will never again underestimate the power and importance of reading after working with these youngsters all summer. I will never turn down an opportunity to introduce someone to the wonders of reading, no matter the age. Most of all, I will never take a volunteering opportunity for granted especially one with books.

Thank you Let’s Read 20 for opening my eyes and my heart to the wonders a book can do.