Change a Child’s Story: Reading Partners NYC Seeks Volunteer Tutors Across 5 Boroughs

Want to make a lasting difference in a child’s life without a huge time commitment? Reading Partners NYC makes it simple. As a volunteer tutor, you’ll spend just one hour a week helping a young student develop crucial reading skills that will shape their entire academic future. No teaching experience needed – Reading Partners provides all the training, materials, and support. Whether you choose in-person or virtual tutoring, you’ll be part of a proven program that’s already helped thousands of NYC students discover the joy and power of reading.

Reading Partners believes that reading is a civil right. Yet today, only 35% of fourth graders in the US read at a proficient level. Reading Partners’ proven one-on-one tutoring model is changing this narrative in New York City, with results from last year that speak for themselves:

• 88% of students met their reading growth goals
• 92% of K-2 students mastered key foundational reading skills
• Over 24,000 tutoring sessions delivered
• More than 10,000 books distributed to young readers

Your Impact Matters

The program focuses on addressing systemic educational inequities by making early literacy intervention more accessible to students from all backgrounds. Reading Partners operates primarily in title I elementary schools where 98% of participants are students of color. Each hour you spend tutoring helps build not just reading skills, but also confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning that will last a lifetime. Making an impact is easy:

• Commit just one hour per week
• Choose flexible hours Monday through Thursday, 8 am-3 pm
• No experience needed – comprehensive training provided
• Both in-person and online tutoring options available
• Open to volunteers age 14 and up

Where You Can Help

Ready to make a difference? Become a tutor and support a child’s reading journey. There are currently 1,000 students waiting for a tutor in New York City. Tutoring opportunities are available across 25 public schools in:
• Mott Haven (South Bronx)
• Harlem (Manhattan)
• Bedford Stuyvesant (Brooklyn)
• Flatbush (Brooklyn)
• South Jamaica (Queens)

Join the 1,105 community members already transforming young lives through literacy. As one participating teacher noted among the 98% who endorsed the program, Reading Partners is “invaluable” to their school’s success — and their own self-satisfaction. “Seeing the change in my student and her attitude toward reading as she became more confident really stuck with me. It made me feel as though I was really making a difference every time my student showed excitement in getting to read.”

Take the first step: Visit Reading Partners Website to become a volunteer tutor in your community today.