Volunteers give their time to students at Killian
By Sheila Wilson

Jean Ward, a REACH volunteer, finds the mentoring process truly rewarding. "When a student comes up to you and says he has two grandmothers, one who reads to her at home and one who listens to her read at school, you know you have connected with the child."

REACH (Readers Enthusiastic About Climbing Higher) mentors volunteer 30 minutes of their time once a week to read with a student at Killian Elementary. REACH is a one- on- one academic mentoring program using volunteers as mentors.

The success of the REACH program is due in part to the approximately 100 people from the surrounding Columbia community who volunteer their "Gift of Time" as mentors.