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Interested in giving back to your community and helping to create equal educational opportunities for young children? Raising A Reader volunteers work with us in a variety of ways- from sorting books at our annual book sort event to helping at community events to supporting our development and communications efforts.

We are proud to offer fun and engaging group and family friendly volunteer opportunities with Raising A Reader in San Francisco and Oakland! These activities are perfect for individuals, families, or corporate teams.

See below for a full list of what we have to offer.

To book your volunteer opportunity, please contact Julie Barton at 510-296-5462.

Give Books, Give Back

This family-friendly volunteer opportunity invites you to see the RAR program in action! Perfect for even the youngest volunteers, families will come together to enjoy an interactive Read Aloud Demonstration by a member of the RAR program staff. After the demonstration, children will participate in a fun and engaging activity while the adult volunteers receive a mini-workshop on early brain development and how to get the most out of story time. Adults will come away with a new understanding of the role of book-sharing in developing key early literacy skills such as social-emotional development, print awareness, vocabulary, critical thinking, self-regulation, and phonological awareness, plus tips and tricks to set their children up for success.

After the workshop, families will reunite for a red bag volunteer opportunity. You and your child will select four books for a red book bag and pack them for another child along with a note of encouragement from you and a special drawing from your child. This provides an opportunity for families to talk with their children about the families who will share the books in their bag and how, without a bag, a child may not have any books to read at all. When you volunteer, you will receive a book to take with you as a souvenir and a means of continuing the literacy and philanthropic conversation at home.

Crafting for A Cause

Gather and assemble sets of wooden blocks depicting educational characters and letters! We will supply all the raw materials and assembly instructions, and these blocks will be used by RAR educators to reinforce storytelling and literacy skills through play in the classroom.

RAR Book Adaptation Activity

Children with special needs benefit from books that are more interactive, appeal to multiple senses, and are easier to use. In this activity, families come together to transform existing books through the addition of tactile elements such as felt and other added elements (like sticky paper added to the corners of pages) that allow children with physical disabilities to successfully manipulate the books. We will provide the books and adaptation materials, as well as guidelines and instructions for volunteers. Great as a corporate team-building craft exercise.

Host a Book Drive

Book drives can benefit families at RAR sites, classroom libraries, and community sites serving at-risk children. RAR will provide a list of books (and can even provide a customized online wishlist) tailored to the recipients of the book drive.

Other Ways to Get Involved…

• Participate in our annual Book Sort to prepare red bags that will be used throughout the school year! This event is held each September and is a great opportunity for individuals, families, and groups.
• Donate products or services for our annual auction.
• Build a Book Nook: help RAR create an inviting, cozy reading corner for one of our sites! Book Nooks need a few pillows, fresh paint, and a modest set of new books.
• Become a Superstar Volunteer! We are building a small cadre of dedicated, long-term individual volunteers to deliver RAR programming directly to families and at events. This opportunity requires a commitment of a least one year and includes training in the RAR literacy model. Volunteers will function as junior program coordinators - visiting sites to model interactive Read Aloud strategies and supporting teachers and childcare providers. Join us in our effort to expand the RAR reach beyond the red bag program to community-based partners including family shelters, hospitals, and hubs for distributing public benefits.
• Host a fundraiser for us! We’re always looking for people to run a guest bartending night or other fun way to spend time with your friends while giving back to your community.
• Contact us about Internship opportunities
• “Like” our Facebook page, encourage others to do the same, and share our posts.
• Get your company involved in our multiple sponsorship opportunities.

We are able to sign off on community service hours for High School volunteers.

Learn More: Volunteers-Ways-to-Get-Involved 2015