When Maya was matched with a volunteer mentor through Ray For Change, she was quietly falling behind — dreading reading time, avoiding it whenever she could, convinced she just "wasn't a reader."
Her mentor started small: fifteen minutes, twice a week, reading together with no pressure and no grades attached. They picked books Maya actually wanted to read. When a word tripped her up, her mentor waited instead of jumping in. Slowly, the sessions stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling like something Maya looked forward to.
Six months later, Maya's teacher pulled her mentor aside with news: Maya was now the top reader in her class. Not just keeping up — leading. She'd gone from avoiding books to asking for new ones.
Maya's story isn't unusual in our mentorship program — it's the point of it. Kids rarely need someone to fix them. They need someone consistent, patient, and genuinely in their corner long enough for their own confidence to catch up to their ability.
We're always looking for volunteers willing to show up, week after week, for a kid like Maya. No teaching degree required — just time and patience.
