With the recruitment of 130 Columbia students, faculty and staff in the first month, the number of volunteers in the public school's program mushroomed from 20 to 150. While reading is the objective, books are just the beginning.
Mentors become like a big brother or sister to the students.
They really look up to them. The depth of that bond was evident at a recent luncheon celebrating the completion of Columbia's first year in the program. Smiles and hugs were shared between mentors and students and reading pairs walked hand in hand to their tables. More than 300 attended the event held in Lerner's Roone Arledge Auditorium. These are partnerships between adults and children that transcend cultural, sociological and economic lines.