(“Rotary Readers”)
The programme was initiated by the Wanganui Rotary Club in 1997, the year Jack Kale was President..
It is administered by Ron Lamont with assistance from Jack Kale and operates in 12 Wanganui Primary Schools
Four “Rotary reader” volunteers are allocated to each school. They attend one morning per week for 2.5 hours and listen to, and assist children on a one to one basis with their reading. Each child gets between 10 and 20 minutes with a reader, four readers operating at once in a comfortable room in the school. Schools have differing policies on selecting which children get the assistance but in all, the procedure is the same, with four children being sent from class as the previous children finish. Usually the child reads to the adult but sometimes the adult will read to the child or maybe even share the reading.
The response from the children is enthusiastic. Some of the children get little opportunity for similar reading experiences at home and they really appreciate being able to demonstrate their skills to an encouraging adult. School principals and teachers seem to value the programme, regularly thanking the volunteers for their work.
The scheme has spread. Information on the scheme has been requested by 56 other Rotary clubs to date and some have started similar schemes in their own area. At least six similar schemes are in existence that we know about.
Not all the volunteers are Rotary Club members; in Wanganui about ten of the sixty or so volunteers are Rotary club members with all of the four Wanganui clubs represented. Other volunteers are recruited by on a ‘tap on the shoulder’ basis to ensure suitable people are recruited and so there is a reasonable gender balance of volunteers.
