Ames Morning Rotary began promoting early childhood literacy in 2000 with a Rotary Children's Opportunity Grant. Every year we pursue literacy initiatives with community partners, and we are seeing results. For instance, the percent of children entering kindergarten in Ames with basic literacy skills increased from 65% in 2008 to 80% in 2013.  

 

Most recently, we collaborated with Raising Readers in Story County and Iowa State Extension and Outreach to create this Community Literacy Toolkit.  It can be viewed online or downloaded at no cost. We are building a network of local leaders, including Rotarians, to develop community-based programs to improve early literacy.