Founded in 2003, we bring teams of trained literacy volunteers and certified reading-assistance dogs into the classroom to tackle the serious issue of childhood literacy.  Each grade, first through fourth, has a customized curriculum designed with the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Literacy. Our year-long programming consists of four components:

Dog Visits
Guest Readers
Reading Rewards
Summer Reading Fun Packs

Since its inception, SitStayRead has grown to serve 7,373 first, second, third and fourth grade students in Chicago’s public schools and community centers. Our curriculum comes to life in the East Garfield Park, East Rogers Park, Fuller Park, Humboldt Park, Cabrini Green, Near South, North Lawndale, and West Town neighborhoods.