Liam (center), and his younger twin brothers, Harris and Owen, have been participants in the Read With Me program at Calgary Public Library for three years. They work with their volunteers, Brita Wahl, Senthil Gnanasambandam and Ruth Halford, respectively, for an hour each week at a Library branch to develop their literacy skills.

Ruth and Owen have been a pair since November 2009. The boys’ father, Bryan, states, 'Owen loves Ruth. She’s amazing. She makes it fun for him to learn and he always comes back in a good mood after their sessions.’ Owen confirms this: ‘It’s fun working with Ruth and really educating. Sometimes, we do games and hard mazes and stuff like that. When we have to read, she picks books that I like and that are funny.’

Brita and Liam have worked together since September 2010. In Liam’s words, ‘It’s been good…in lots of ways. We do reading and she’ll play games with me. She’s really nice and she helps me with the words and stuff.’ Bryan adds, ‘Brita has a calm, peaceful personality, which is exactly what Liam needs, especially in his learning. She keeps him engaged and focused.’

Senthil and Harris began their match in January 2012. Bryan shared that since starting work with Senthil, Harris now loves reading and does so independently at home daily. Harris confers, ‘Senthil is really good. I really like him a lot. He really helps me a lot. I’ve improved my reading since I started working with him and now I’m figuring-out more hard words. He’s really nice and lets me pick books I like.’

All three volunteers feel the boys are benefiting from their help in the program and enjoy their sessions together. Brita says she loves working with Liam and ‘It’s been fun getting to learn something new each session…I’ve learned a lot about sharks, scorpions and Star Wars’.

Bryan is unequivocal about the help provided to his children by the volunteers: ‘We are so happy and amazed by the program and so appreciative of all the folks who volunteer.’

Thank you, Ruth, Brita, and Senthil for all your efforts and sharing your love of literacy with these children!

Volunteers are needed at our Country Hills Library for our ESL Conversation Club and TD Read With Me programs.

Help adult English learners practice their speaking skills and gain confidence through games, conversation starters, and group activities with the ESL Conversation Club

OR

Help children improve their reading skills with our TD Read with Me Program.

Volunteers must be over 18, fluent in English, and able to make a one year commitment. To apply, please click here.

Patient, kind, warm, calm. These are examples of words that have been used to describe Safina Sachedina, a volunteer with the Calgary Public Library’s ‘TD Read With Me’ program since 2009. Safina’s been working and reading with her young buddy, Shenise, for an hour a week at a library branch since October 2009. Shenise will graduate from the program later in Summer 2012, as she’s completed Gr. 6, and she credits Safina with helping her a lot over the almost three years they’ve worked together:

‘It’s been really, really good working with Safina. I feel really confident in my reading now. She’s really, really nice and doesn’t get frustrated if I don’t understand. I feel comfortable with Safina and she really understands when I have rough days…I don’t have to read then, we can play games instead. We’ve become friends.’

Michelle, Shenise’s mom, elaborates on the help that Safina has provided to her daughter through the program:

‘It’s been wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit than we got with Safina. She’s the most patient person I’ve ever met. She’s been able to break-down the barriers that Shenise puts up on bad days. They’re very in-tune with each other and have developed a real friendship. Safina has not only helped to develop Shenise’s reading skills but has also helped to raise her self-esteem and has been more like a mentor to her.’

According to Safina, the feeling goes both ways. ‘It’s been really good, working with Shenise and her family. I’ve really gotten to know her well and she’s a good girl and so fun. We’ve bonded really well and I’ve seen her grow a lot in confidence in general across the years. I see her going far in life. She’ll have to work hard (don’t we all! J) but she’ll get there!’

Thank you, Safina, for all your dedication to the program over the past 3 years! And best of luck to you, Shenise, in junior high in the fall!

Navjot Virk exudes warmth, friendliness and intelligence. She and Piyush have been reading partners in the TD Read With Me program for the past two and a half years. They’ve met once a week for an hour over that period at a Calgary Public Library branch to read and enjoy literacy together. Piyush graduated from the program in June 2012, following the completion of his Gr. 6 school year.

According to Shalini, Piyush’s mom, his graduation comes a few years too soon. ‘I would have liked it if he could have stayed in the program through his junior high years. Navjot has really helped him, not only with his reading, but also with personal growth. He sees her as a role model and a ‘big sister’. Their personalities matched very well. You can’t just give him a book and sit and read straight for an hour. Navjot recognized that and made program sessions interactive for him, playing board games and doing different activities with him, and kept him engaged.’

Piyush agrees, stating that working with Navjot over the years has been ‘really good.’ He has improved his reading skills a lot. He elaborates that Navjot ‘helps you with your homework, if you have some. [Our program sessions] were interesting. It was never the same thing…[the activities were] always mixed-up…so it wasn’t just reading all the time but we played games together too. It was fun.’

Navjot concurs. ‘Piyush is awesome and I think I learn more from him than he does from me. The coolest thing has been seeing his self-confidence increase. We’ve been paired together for so long that we’ve really developed a relationship and it’s been neat to see him make progress through the years’.

Shalini has no doubt that the next child paired with Navjot in the program will see similar benefits from her support. The staff at Calgary Public Library could not agree more.

Thank you, Navjot! And best of luck in Junior High in the fall, Piyush!

If you want to learn more about the TD Read With Me program, click here.

A positive, friendly and caring individual, Jennifer Kot has been a volunteer with the TD Read With Me program at Calgary Public Library since 2006. In the TD Read With Me program, volunteers mentor children one-on-one to help develop their literacy skills and interest in reading. Jennifer has been working with her current buddy, Terence, since September 2009. She states, ‘It’s a really rewarding way to spend an hour each week. Every week, I see him make small improvements but his overall progress across the past few years is astounding. He’s worked really hard and it’s been fun’.

Terence will graduate from the program at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. ‘Jen’s a good tutor and she’s helping me read better’, he states. ‘She’s patient and doesn’t get upset easily’.

Terence’s mom, Cindy, also shared her impressions:

‘Jen has been an excellent mentor and taught Terence that reading can be fun. She introduced him to different types of reading materials and games to help engage his interest. She is very patient with him and kind. Terence has a wonderful sense of humour and Jen has really tapped into that. Her help has been a huge boost for his self-esteem. I believe that because of her influence, Terence will be a life-long reader. The program is a great idea and I’d like to encourage more people to volunteer for it because it makes a huge difference and changes kids’ lives.’

Thank you, Jennifer, for all your hard work and amazing dedication and contributions to the TD Read With Me program!

An empathetic, friendly and caring individual, Jane Baker has been a TD Read With Me volunteer since 2007. In the TD Read With Me program, volunteers mentor children one-on-one to help develop their literacy skills and interest in reading. Jane donates her valuable time, skills and enthusiasm to the program because, ‘I have a passion for literacy and I can’t imagine my life without it. Seeing that [similar passion for literacy] ‘click’ for a child is magical and gives me goose-bumps’.

Jane has been working with her current buddy, Maryam, since October 2009. Maryam will graduate from the program this spring. ‘I improved lots from working with Jane’, she states. ‘I read out loud better, I read faster and now I can finish a [chapter] book in less than a week. I know how to communicate and my spelling, which was really bad before, is better now. Jane is calm and she’s really nice to me’.

Fathia, Maryam’s mom, had the following further comments: ‘The work Jane has done is amazing. She’s really helped Maryam a lot. Maryam is into books now and she can help herself and help others. She reads for two hours straight every day, whereas she used to hate books before. Jane is patient, reliable and wonderful and I’m so glad that Maryam was matched with her in the program’.

Thank you, Jane, for all the amazing contributions you have made to the TD Read With Me program and to the lives of your little buddies and their families over the past four years!