The phrase “power lunch” in business usually refers to a group of business associates going out to a nice lunch to discuss strategy, make new connections, or seal a deal. My power lunch last week included Green Eggs and Ham (the Dr. Seuss kind) with my new second-grade buddy, Antwan.
Thanks to PepsiCo’s support of the Power Lunch program through the amazing organization WITS (Working in the Schools), a dozen fellow employees and I hopped on a yellow school bus last Thursday to go to our students’ school and read one-on-one over our lunch hour. Some volunteers read with a student every Thursday, while other volunteers, like myself, alternate and read bi-weekly. By the number of returning volunteers from last year, it is evident that we see the incredible value in the program and have a lot of fun, too.
More than 67% of all U.S. fourth graders are not reading at grade level, according to the 2009 National Assessment of Education Progress Reading Test. At the school where we volunteer, that figure is 55.5%. Therefore, the need is great for students to have access to programs like WITS to improve their reading proficiency.
The first session of each school year starts with students and volunteers signing a contract to put their best efforts forward in the program and talking through some “getting to know you” questions that build an instant bond. All I had to do was say that my name is Jennifer. Antwan’s smile and observation, “Like Jennifer Hudson’s name,” gave me instant credibility.
Because there were more students than volunteers the other week, Mariah and Antwan both read to me. I was beaming with joy during the last five minutes of our session as they read briskly, in unison, long stretches of Dr. Seuss poetry that taught them to breeze through words like would, could and anywhere — words they had stumbled through and misread just a half hour earlier. With progress like that in one session, I have big hopes for what we can accomplish this school year!
I encourage everyone reading this article to support WITS in Chicago, or a local program in your town. I promise — you’ll realize your impact quickly and deeply!
