"Read to Lead"
Oct 15, 2025
Program Sponsor: Reed Hastings
"Read to Lead"

Lead to Read KC was founded in 2011 by two former teachers, Lynn and Jean Rundle, who were passionate about helping children succeed. After years of mentoring and tutoring teens who struggled in school, they realized the problem wasn’t just that the kids weren’t reading; it was that reading didn’t seem relevant to them.

With this in mind, they set out to create a program that would not only improve reading skills but also instill a love of reading. After months of research and consultation with leaders in education and the local community, Lynn and Jean launched what is now known as the Reading Mentoring program.

The initiative began with just a handful of volunteers in several Kansas City-area schools and has since flourished to include 1,700 Reading Mentors. The program also established Lead to Read KC as a powerful partner for public and charter schools in the area, which has been leveraged to diversify programming.

 

Happy $  Polio Plus