“Imagine opening this newspaper to find it written in a foreign language. All the endless combinations of letters and symbols only confuse, leaving words unknowable and sentences incomprehensible. Jumpstart Akron is a program that realizes how important literacy is.”
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Imagine opening this newspaper to find it written in a foreign language. All the endless combinations of letters and symbols only confuse, leaving words unknowable and sentences incomprehensible.

Jumpstart Akron is a program that realizes how important literacy is.

It is trying to prevent illiteracy by teaching at risk children from ages three to five years old through a yearlong, one-on-one relationships with them.

Disadvantaged children have a particularly high risk for literacy deficiencies, due in large part to a lack of experiences with books, said Catherine Cutlip, site manager for Jumpstart Akron.

Students can support Jumpstart Akron through Summit Mall’s Evening of Giving, which started on Monday and goes through Saturday. Tickets for the shopping event are $10 with all proceeds going to charity. A substantial portion of the profits will go directly to Jumpstart Akron, which they will use to buy children’s books.

The remainder of the profits from the Summit Mall’s Evening of Giving will to Simon Youth Foundation.

Jumpstart is a national organization that recruits and trains college students to be able to assist in the development of low-income children. They are currently in 57 cities and 160 pre-schools across the nation.

The Jumpstart program functions under the belief that there is an educational crisis in America, and the best solution is early education and attention of youth.

Through mentoring a child one-on-one, corps members and college students help children develop language and literacy skills.

Cutlip said Jumpstart helps provide kids with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed.

It’s their (student volunteers) job to devote attention to children in the classroom, to help improve adult to child ration and lending extra support to teachers as well as children, she said. They also help the community in an assortment of other ways.

Jumpstart Akron is in its fifth year program. More than 70 UA students work with the program to combat illiteracy.

The development of emerging literacy skills in young children is too important to allow a ‘wait and see’ approach, Cutlip said. Early environment plays a large role in shaping later outcomes.

Skill begets skill and learning begets more learning. Early advantages accumulate; so do early disadvantages.

Not only is the Jumpstart Akron program beneficial to at risk youth, but also it’s beneficial to UA students.

It really helps students go beyond university walls to see what else is out there. It helps prepare them for jobs as teachers by giving students hands on experience, and it improves their social skills as well Cutlip said.

It was beneficial for me because I want to go into child psychology, junior Samantha Jackson said.

Being around the kids helps me understand them better, she said. Because I worked one-on-one with the kids, I got really attached.

I was attached because I made an impact in their life.

College students who are awarded federal work study from the university can do Jumpstart to work through school.

Students can also volunteer for Jumpstart to receive an educational award directly from AmeriCorps worth $1,000 for 300 hours of service.

Cutlip said in a nutshell, Jumpstart is the combination of a wonderful professional experience that includes making a difference and volunteer service.

Students interested in joining the program will have the opportunity to fill openings for the spring semester.

Applications are available online at www.jstart.org.

Students who wish to help Jumpstart but are short on time can attend Jumpstart Akron’s five-year UA Kickoff Celebration Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Paul Daum Theatre.

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