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So Much to Gain

At the end of every year, as we look ahead to new projects and possibilities, we often consider what we’d like to leave behind. That’s how resolutions are born. We vow to lose those last ten pounds, maybe, or shed our most annoying habit. Whatever it is, we tell ourselves, something has to go. And yet, even when we accomplish our goal and that something is gone, we’re often left feeling less than fulfilled. That’s why, this year, all of us at SLD Read invite you to ask yourself what you would like to gain in 2018, and what you would like to give to a child.

For decades, SLD Read has been helping children learn to read, regardless of learning differences or ability to pay. Many of these children are among the most vulnerable in West Michigan. They are poor and under-resourced. They are hungry and tired and attend schools that are struggling under the weight of great expectations and limited funds. They are also our students, and they receive one-on-one tutoring, twice a week, free of charge. We call this special program Language Links, and it is entirely donor funded.

All of our students, whether we meet them at school or out in the community, are subsidized at least in part by our generous donors. We simply could not serve as many children as well as we do without their help. Of course, donors are just people who chose to give. Because of them, year after year, hundreds of kids are able to access our services, without which these children face not only retention in school, but limitations in life. We simply can’t let that happen to these kids.

We believe that our donors gain beyond measure when they decide to support our students, whether that support comes in the form of scholarship funding or volunteer hours. Because they opted to give, to focus outward at the end of one year, our donors gain the lifelong gratitude of families that they may never know. They also gain the knowledge that, because of them, a child may finish a book for the first time ever, or volunteer to read in class, or pass a spelling test, or even just smile more often. Those things can happen this year, and will, for a lot of deserving kids. Your gift of time or your donation could add one more name to that list.