o1.
Literacy enrichment because reading is everything.
o2.
A volunteer phone based community reading program.
o3.
Serving the Community with the help of the African American Church.
Our Vision
Vision Statement
To empower African Americans to take ownership of their educational and economic destinies by cultivating a culture of excellence, self-determination, and community-driven progress. We envision a future where African American communities lead in creating equitable, sustainable systems of learning and economic development—grounded in cultural pride, historical awareness, and intergenerational collaboration.
Membership Plan
Vision
Lead and Read is a literacy program established to support children in the African American community. Students participate in a phone-based reading program once a week to measure growth in reading skills, to help students develop a love for reading, and to determine how that growth might relate to the student’s academic progress in the classroom. Lead and Read will stimulate the child’s creativity, provide opportunities to learn about Black history and other history, and increase their ability to transfer knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Goal
The primary goal of the Lead and Read Literacy Enrichment Program is to enhance reading skills, comprehension, writing, speaking, and critical thinking abilities among children in our community, all while imparting knowledge of Black history and contributions to the development of United States. The program is committed to making a tangible difference in underserved and marginalized communities by bolstering the literacy levels of their residents. Through targeted interventions and culturally relevant education, Lead and Read aims to empower children with the skills and knowledge necessary for academic success and personal growth, ultimately fostering a brighter future for all members of the community.
Mission
The mission of the Lead and Read Literacy Enrichment Program is to be instrumental in enriching the reading and comprehension skills of youth in our community. The scope of the program’s mission will be achieved by volunteer outreach to identify students in the community, especially ones with reading challenges, promoting awareness of reading issues within the community and advertising program resources, administering effective reading best practices and programs, and providing on-going reading assistance through regular phone sessions.
Program Delivery Method
The volunteer mentor will provide over-the-phone reading assistance to their assigned student partner. The students and the volunteer mentors will have possession of the same book. The students will read to the mentor with the mentor providing assistance as needed. The mentor and student will take time to discuss the book to ensure comprehension and to allow time for questions. The estimated session time is approximately 10 to 20 minutes, once a week. Each month, students receive five Black history facts to store in their memory banks, profoundly impacting them by embedding these crucial narratives permanently.
The mentor/student partners will select the books from the library, online, Amazon free Kindle selection, church selection, or teacher assigned classroom reading lists. Please note that many libraries also have the option of reviewing books online.
Organization
$
89
/
Year
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
Volunteer
$
10
/
Year
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
Student
$
2
/
Year
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
Program Application Process
To join the Lead and Read program, interested churches, volunteers, students, and parents must complete the appropriate online application form. Once submitted, each applicant will receive a unique identification number connected to their designated member church.
After a church’s application has been processed and assigned an ID, volunteers/mentors, students, and parents may proceed with individual registration. Each participant’s form will include their affiliated church and generate a personal identification number.
Following registration—and after volunteers and mentors have been vetted through their church—mentors will begin reaching out to students and parents. They will share program details, confirm the start date, and schedule weekly 10-minute phone-based reading sessions, each concluding with a “Black Fact” highlighting African American history.
Mentors will focus on supporting students who face academic challenges or seek to strengthen their reading skills. Sessions will incorporate culturally relevant materials to inspire pride in African American heritage and foster a lasting love for reading.
Each session will be customized to the student’s needs, emphasizing key literacy areas such as reading comprehension, phonics, decoding, fluency, sight word recognition, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Whether a student reads a few pages or an entire book, every effort is celebrated to build self-esteem, cultural pride, and a strong sense of accomplishment.
All sessions will be conducted over the phone, with students initiating contact once a week to ensure consistent engagement, encouragement, and academic support.
Leadership
This is a membership-based program. Synergy Training Solutions will maintain all records and materials, oversee program objectives and mission. The member churches will provide management, administration, and oversight of the program. The member churches will accept applications from volunteers for vexing, screening and selection. The churches and their volunteer members will inform the community and local schools of their membership in the Lead and Read program. The organization will pair the volunteers/mentors with students and assist all parties as they register online.
Each chuch will receive a quarterly report to include, student ID #, book, author, grade level, school, reading level, # of page, series of other items for example: decoding, comprehension, etc.
Target Demographic
The target population for services are children ages 4 to 19 within the African American communities at all reading levels. All churches serving African Americans children.
- Public Relations:
The purpose of marketing and publicity of the program is to make the community aware of this new outreach literacy program that is available to school-aged children.