On Tuesday March 22 we met two very interesting women for the first time, Barbie and Amanda from “Paint the Town ReAd.” PTTR is a charity with the noble objective of improving children’s literacy. This objective is accomplished by encouraging either the parents (or a relative) or a volunteer to read to children even from the day the child is born. It has been shown that this reading interaction allows children to start school ready to learn.
Especially important is that for children from low socio-economic areas, studies have shown the academic achievement gap increases as they get older. Barbie told the Club members that PTTR often targets communities where the Australian Early Development Census shows that over 20% of children struggle with literacy. She said that they know that the best way to encourage early literacy is through community leadership and involvement. Because of this, the movement revolves around empowering local groups to lead and develop activities that work for their own areas.
Several of our members indicated that they want to get involved. If you are interested in joining PTTR, the best way is to contact them through their website.