Beware: Mentoring Can Melt Your Heart

Beware: Mentoring Can Melt Your Heart

Mention Lead to Read KC in a crowded room and it’s likely two or three people will proudly exclaim ”I’m a Reading Mentor!” Ask them why they volunteer and you’re likely to hear, “It feels like I’m making a difference.” That’s exactly what Lisa Phillips says about the...
From Flextra to Honor Roll

From Flextra to Honor Roll

When Linda Zesch heard about Lead to Read KC from Rotary Club 13, she was immediately drawn to the program because of her concerns about the literacy crisis. “In grade school I loved reading and now I really believe I can help kids love it too.” says Linda.    She...
Follow Your Compass

Follow Your Compass

Our Book Collectors initiative is off to a great start with more than a dozen, and still growing, organizations, companies or individuals gathering new and like-new children’s books for Lead to Read KC. This consistent stream of donated materials helps us fill...
Mentor Moment

Mentor Moment

Recently Mike McGuire’s sessions as a Reading Mentor at Genesis School inspired him to get creative. His student often brought a book on science experiments for them to read. In particular McGuire could tell the “2 cups and a string walkie-talkie” really intrigued the...
Reading at the Center of It All

Reading at the Center of It All

Jamie Morrow Nelson might be new to Lead to Read KC but she’s already figured out why being a Reading Mentor is so meaningful. She started reading at Center Elementary in South Kansas City’s Center School District at the beginning of 2024 and already loves it. “While...
Community Service Around the Clock

Community Service Around the Clock

Lead to Read KC offers so many different opportunities for volunteers and Laura Logan has made the most of them all. She started as a Reading Mentor in 2018 after hearing about the program through her job at Hallmark and over the past six years she has added book...