Birmingham Rotaract

In 2005, Rotaract chose literacy as its service project focus, targeting second grade reading comprehension after studies showed that age group was a critical time in a student’s educational development. Rotaract wanted to give young students the tools that they needed to become better readers, and direct access to more books in their classrooms was the obvious first step. From that idea, Rotaract’s “classroom library” concept was born in form of the Ready 2 Read program.

Rotaract, through Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation, has raised more than $200,000 for the program and in September 2008 each second grade classroom in Birmingham City Schools received a classroom library with 129 books. Rotaract members and volunteers delivered the books to each class and return to read once a month. Better Basics has partnered with Rotaract on the Ready 2 Read project and will help to administer the program.