People Driven Credit Union Interview With 313 Reads
Dave: Hi everybody. Dave Sullivan here part of the marketing team at People Driven Credit Union and I have two special guests with me.
Leah: I’m Dr. Leah Vanbell. I serve as the executive director of 313 reads…
Andrea: I am Andrea Meyer. I am the executive director of the Center for Success Network, and I serve as the co-chair of the summer learning table for 313 reads.
Dave: We are so happy to be a part of this organization. I think reading is so essential. It was vital for my son when he was in grade school that there was a book club that he could attend after school. Can you tell me a bit of what 313 reads does and how it helps kids get engaged with books more than they might otherwise be?
Leah: We serve children and families living in Detroit. We all know that books are foundational to literacy. There’s a great need for books in Detroit, and our program has partners from all across the city that come together. We focus on having better interventions for tutoring, supporting families with literacy, and getting books in kids’ hands. Detroit is what is often called the book desert, meaning that there aren’t very many bookstores. Access to libraries can be a little bit challenging, and we want to support book ownership, so kids have the books they’re going to connect with and love because we’ve all seen the power of the kid finding the right book for them and how it motivates them as a reader.
Andrea: I agree with everything Leah just said. I think the power of this collective impact work is that we have partners doing different types of reading interventions supporting families or schools in different ways. We can come together and learn from each other about how to deepen our relationships with families, serve our students better, and train our staff in a more powerful way for our students.
Dave: I think that’s so important. If our members want to reach out through volunteering or a donation, how could they find out more about you?
Leah: Yes, they can find us at www.313reads.org. We would love to connect with them, so there are certainly opportunities to donate new or gently loved books, but there are also opportunities to volunteer to connect with organizations like Andrea center for success for one-on-one literacy mentoring or tutoring with kids would be fantastic.
Dave: Thank you so much for coming out and doing this 313 Reads Interview, I appreciate it.
Leah: Thank you. We’re grateful to People Driven Credit Union
Andrea: Thank you
