Updated 2/19/20

WePAC first offered its services in West Philadelphia during the 2003-04 school year, when it placed six volunteers in one elementary school. It began as an outgrowth of an urban ministry project between Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and many civic groups, and today is a wholly-independent and non-sectarian 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

WePAC programs focus on children in grades K-4, during the early and critical years of their educational careers. WePAC volunteers encourage curiosity and foster a lifelong love of reading. Our overarching goal is to bring books, reading, and libraries to low-income schoolchildren who have lost their library or who never had one.

To improve students’ access to libraries and literacy activities, we:

• • Run 17 libraries in West and Southwest Philadelphia

    Since 2009, WePAC is running 17 libraries in West and Southwest Philadelphia, providing library services in schools with more than 8,000 students.WePAC is the only nonprofit in Philadelphia systematically working to open closed school libraries. WePAC is currently on track to open 20 libraries by the end of the 20/21 school year. While each of Pennsylvania’s state prisons is required by law to have a librarian with a Master’s degree and a large book collection, no such requirements exist for our schools. Year after year, surveys show that for many students, the school library is the only library they visit, and principals report that many kids do not have anyone reading to them at home.

• Read stories with children and help them select and check out library books

  WePAC’s dedicated volunteers read stories with children and help them select and check out books.

• Donate thousands of books to schools

  Donating thousands of books to schools and circulating more than 45,151 books per month, WePAC brings school libraries to life!

Library Team Members serve in our school libraries by supporting the organization’s mission of fostering a love of reading and interest in books for our children. The Library Team Member is a vital role at WePAC and works in teams of 2-5 members to facilitate library programs at WePAC schools. Team members lead a number of activities related to library programs, including but not limited to: read alouds, activities, checking books in/out of the library and cataloging. Anyone who loves books and children is well-suited for this position.

To find out more visit their volunteer page: https://wepac.org/get-involved/

Website: https://wepac.org/

Location: Most of WePac’s schools are in West Philadelphia, multiple locations

Phone: 215-452-0333

Email: volunteer@wepac.org

Updated 2/19/20

Philly Reading Coaches (PRC) is a program that combines early reading support, access to books, and community volunteers to boost reading skills for our city’s children.

The program works by pairing trained volunteers with young students – kindergarten through 3rd grade, and by providing fun and child-guided reading experiences that help build reading skills and motivation. Each child in the program also receives 25 free books to take home.

By becoming a Reading Coach, you’ll help ensure our city’s kids can read at grade level when they enter fourth grade.

Committed volunteers, who can be as young as 14 years old, will spend a minimum of one hour, once a week reading one-on-one with a youngster, helping them to gain confidence in their reading abilities and discover the love of reading.

Reading sessions take place after school between the hours of 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Website: http://ost.phila.gov/philly-reading-coaches/ 

Location: Multiple locations, check website for a map

Phone: 215-686-0317

Email: PRC@phila.gov