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Raising A Reader profiled!

We are thrilled to announce that Raising A Reader’s Executive Director, Molly Wertz, was profiled by the San Francisco Business Times. Below is the article that ran on Friday, Sept. 7.

Molly Wertz, executive director of Raising A Reader San Francisco

Premium content from San Francisco Business Times by Renée Frojo, Reporter

What it does: Rotates bags filled with books into kids’ homes weekly. Provides parent training on sharing books to promote family literacy.

Mission: To close the achievement gap before it appears by engaging limited-income families in daily book sharing with their young children.

Milestones: Raising A Reader of San Francisco and Alameda County launched as an independent 501c3 last year and now serves 9,000-plus families.

Annual budget: A little over $1 million.

Corporate supporters: Clorox, Dodge and Cox, Heffernan Group, Pinotti and Associates, Premier Staffing, S.S. Papadapulous and Associates, Safeway, Target, Wells Fargo, Western Digital.

Board members: Grace Carter, Rebecca Johnson, Donna Duhe, Saeed Mirfattah,Donna Dolislager Johnson, Laurie Edelstein, Kirsty Traill.

Employees: 8.

Volunteers: 50.

Telephone: (415) 683-5460.

Website: www.rarbayarea.org.

Office issues

Recent challenge: We have had tremendous demand. The challenge then becomes how to find resources to support this effective program. We’re now serving nearly 10,000 children every year.

Measures of success: We consistently get strong results. We see through research studies on the program that children are entering kindergarten more ready to learn. Their academic skills are better and self-regulation is better. Teachers report that the kids in the program love reading more, have a bigger vocabulary and have a greater knowledge of books.

Missed opportunity: We don’t have a presence in Fremont or Hayward yet.

Misconception: That we just send books home. People don’t understand that we do extensive development for early education educators and parents. We’re not just meeting the access-to-book gap. We’re also helping build connections between parents and their kids so that home-school learning is stronger.

Professional insights

Personal path to nonprofit work: I was a young mom that loved teaching my kids, but I wanted to be more involved so I became an aide at school. Then I became an administrator. But I realized the funding system was in my way, so I started doing policy work. Then realized I should be a funder to really be able to influence, which led me to United Way of the Bay Area and eventually Raising a Reader.

Most surprising aspect: How much everyone really cares about the children in our community. There is no lack of commitment. There are lots of structural barriers within our system, but there are so many folks working hard everyday to make an equitable society.

Biggest pain: The gap between the need out there and what we’re able to provide.

Greatest pleasure: My favorite experience is watching parents’ face light up when they learn that they’ve been doing the right thing. There’s this sense of empowerment they get when they understand how this all works. It’s not that complicated, but it’s not something that is taught.

Best recent moment: When a funder asked me how I was solving a certain problem and then said, “How can I help you do that?”

Dream for another life: None. This is the perfect place for me to be.

Greatest inspiration: Babies. They’re curious about everything, they’re willing to try everything, and they assume that everything will work out. Those are the qualities I admire in anybody.

Causes: Youth development, especially teenagers.

Most like to meet: Anyone who is interested in helping us deliver our mission. I don’t seek out star power. I want commitment to action.

Renée Frojo covers hospitality, restaurants, retail and nonprofits for the San Francisco Business Times.