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Volunteers Will Promote Early Literacy by Reading to More Than 15,000 Students on United Way Reading Day

In recognition of United Way of Dallas’ Centennial anniversary, this year’s books celebrate 100 years of reading.
January 28, 2025

It’s fun to read to children. Young children are like sponges—they just soak up everything. You have the opportunity to actually watch children learn while you’re reading to them, which is an exciting experience.

 

Dr. Harryette Ehrhardt, Reading Day volunteer 
United Way Reading Day presented by Atmos Energy is one of our most beloved annual traditions. As part of our Aspire United Volunteer Series presented by Texas Instruments, it’s a unique opportunity for community volunteers to spark a love of reading in young students across North Texas.   This fun-filled day directly supports our goal to improve third-grade reading proficiency in our communities. Early literacy is important for all children and is foundational to our three focus areas—education, income and health—which we’ve identified as the building blocks of opportunity.    As we look ahead to United Way Reading Day presented by Atmos Energy, held Friday, March 7 in more than 1,000 classrooms across North Texas, let’s explore the impact of Reading Day, the importance of reading proficiency and how you can be part of this incredible event. 

We Created an Unprecedented Impact in 2024 

Last year’s United Way Reading Day presented by Atmos Energy was bigger, more exciting and more impactful than ever before. The event, celebrated in more than 1,000 classrooms across North Texas, engaged nearly 1,200 dedicated volunteers who read to more than 20,000 local students.  With thousands of change-seekers signing up to read to children, donate books and prepare literacy kits, Reading Day 2024 marked the kickoff of our Aspire United Volunteer Series presented by Texas Instruments, leading up to this year’s Centennial anniversary. Now through November, we’re uniting all of Dallas to celebrate our first 100 years of impact, give back to the community and look ahead to our next century of service to North Texas. 
This historically impactful event inspired hand-raisers from across North Texas to get involved, including Former First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush, who served as honorary Reading Day chair.   United Way Reading Day even got a shoutout on the Today Show, where Jenna Bush Hager was leading her own celebration of Read Across America Day while her mom Laura read to excited kiddos right here in North Texas. Check out the clip here! 

Reading Day 2024 Impact 

  • 20,000+ local students positively impacted 
  • 1,200+ volunteers engaged  
  • 1,000 classrooms participated 
  • 42 elementary campuses celebrated 
  • 4,400 literacy kits prepared by our corporate partners  
For Reading Day volunteers like Dr. Harryette Ehrhardt, the event was an opportunity to leverage the power of books to change lives. The former educator—who even taught children’s literature to our Honorary Reading Day Chair Laura Bush at Southern Methodist University—knows that reading is the gateway to a child’s future.  “You can use a book to go anywhere in the world, any time, any place in history,” she says. “And to give children that resource is to give them something to carry on with their lifelong learning.” 

The Importance of Reading Proficiency 

Our annual Reading Day celebration isn’t just about encouraging children to love reading. It also supports early literacy by showing kids that books are fun, accessible and engaging.   Early literacy is directly connected to our focus areas of education, income and health—the building blocks of opportunity. When children develop strong reading skills, they are better equipped to succeed in school, which in turn supports college and career readiness, career achievement and even overall health.   Research shows the connection between education and other key areas: 
  • Children who enter school ready to learn are more likely to read proficiently by third grade.  
  • College graduates can earn $36,000 more a year, enabling them to save for the future. 
  • Financially stable adults can access quality healthcare for themselves and their families.  
Research indicates that third grade is an important learning milestone for students and a time when reading proficiency is especially significant. That’s because third grade is when children shift from learning to read to reading to learn. From this point on, reading becomes foundational for all other learning, including science, math and history. In fact, an estimated 85% of all curricula is taught by reading.  “Once children develop strong literacy skills, they are ready to begin learning and succeeding in every subject,” said Abigail Sharp, vice president of early childhood initiatives at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.   While events like Reading Day support children’s development, creativity and vocabulary, they also create a foundation for learning, which opens the door to the future, whether that takes the form of college, a career, the military or some other path. By encouraging early reading as a community, together we can advance our mission to create access and opportunity for all North Texans to thrive. 

Reading Proficiency in North Texas 

Recent data shows that third-grade reading proficiency has jumped more than 15% in our service area. This puts us on track to achieve our top-line Aspire United 2030 education goal, which is to increase by 50% the number of students reading on grade level by third grade.   Our community wide Aspire United 2030 goals are our set of 10-year benchmarks guiding our impact in the areas of education, income and health now through 2030. Together with our independent external evaluator, the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), we closely track progress toward our Aspire United 2030 community goals.   Sharp says early literacy initiatives like those from United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and our partners are having a direct impact on overall third-grade reading proficiency in our community.  “United Way and other local community organizations recognize the importance of literacy and exposure to reading from a very early age,” she says. “Programs like United Way Reading Day and Once Upon a Month create opportunity and access where it didn’t exist before, exposing children to the joys and possibilities of books in a way that will benefit them for years to come.” 

Support Early Literacy in North Texas 

Research indicates that by the end of third grade, 74% of struggling readers won’t ever catch up. That’s why it’s so important for children to have literacy opportunities and exposure as early as possible.   Here are three ways you can support early literacy in right here at home: 
  1. Volunteer: Join us as a Reading Day volunteer, either by signing up to read to students in person or by participating in one of our virtual volunteer opportunities. This year’s Reading Day will celebrate 100 Years of Reading, in recognition of United Way’s Centennial anniversary. Volunteers will read to thousands of elementary students across North Texas classrooms and participate in our online book drives to help build each child’s personal library. To learn more about United Way Reading Day and to volunteer, visit our Reading Day event page.  
  1. Give: Make a donation to support programs like Reading Day and Once Upon a Month, which delivers age-appropriate children’s books to North Texas children every month to encourage language development and spark a love of reading. 
  1. Advocate: The Texas Legislature is currently in session, and now is the perfect time to join us in advocating for our legislative priorities, which include strengthening early literacy policies. Sign up for our Advocacy Alerts today. 
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Education
Literacy
Reading Day
Volunteer

Volunteer for Reading Day

Join us for Reading Day presented by Atmos Energy on Friday, March 7, and spark a love of reading in local scholars that could last a lifetime. Visit our volunteer page to learn more about in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities. 

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