Flanked by United Way of Wyoming Valley marketing and communications director Kaylee Baran, at left, and executive director Bill Jones, at right, are members of Junior Leadership Northeast who are collecting books for children, including Melody Josefowicz from Holy Redeemer High School; Landen Aritz from Lake-Lehman; Mia Altavilla from Wyoming Area; Nick Delayo from Wyoming Seminary; Liv Seery from Greater Nanticoke Area, Lily Romanowski from Wyoming Valley West.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
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“They ran up and gave me a big hug after I read to them,” 16-year-old Melody Josefowicz from Holy Redeemer High School said.
“They had the biggest smiles,” said 16-year-old Lily Romanowski from Wyoming Valley West.
The young women from Junior Leadership Northeast’s Class of 2024 were reminiscing about a “Read Across America” Day they recently spent reading to children at Heights-Murray Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre.
Their Junior Leadership committee anticipates more smiles when the United Way of Wyoming Valley distributes some 20,000 books the young people have helped collect for local students from preschool through 12th grade.
At midday Friday, the youthful committee was on hand at the United Way offices in downtown Wilkes-Barre with boxes and boxes of books, donated by schools, businesses and other organizations, that will be sorted according to age group and subject matter.
Romanowski said she felt nostalgic whenever she spotted a kid’s book that she had read as a youngster.
“The Magic Treehouse,” was a favorite, she noted.
“They’re doing a great job,” advisor Kathleen Savage said, explaining members of the Junior Leadership committee will attend a book fair in late May and help students choose books to take home for summer reading.
“Reading is super important,” said committee member Mia Altavilla, 17, who is from Wyoming Area High School.
Echoing that sentiment Bill Jones, executive director of the United Way of Wyoming Valley, said Pennsylvania has a goal of having 81% of third graders reading at grade level by 2030.
It’s important to be proficient by third grade, Jones said, because once students are past the primary grades, they will need reading for every subject.
Before the pandemic, Jones said, only 58% of third graders in Luzerne County were reading at grade level. That dipped to 39% after the pandemic, and slowly crept up to 46% post pandemic.
The Junior Leadership committee members said they hope giving children books they like, and sharing their own enthusiasm for reading, will help.
Committee members include Melody Josefowitz from Holy Redeemer High School, Lily Romanowski from Wyoming Valley West, Mia Altavilla from Wyoming Area, Nick Delayo from Wyoming Seminary, Liv Seery from Greater Nanticoke Area and Landen Aritz from Lake-Lehman.