POSTED: Monday, January 23, 2012 - 5:27pm
UPDATED: Monday, January 23, 2012 - 6:45pm
BATON ROUGE, LA (NBC33) — Monday, Jan. 23 was a big day for a local non-profit organization focused on education.
The Verizon foundation donated $21,000 dollars to Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS). That money will go to their Everybody Reads literacy program.
"Verizon's ultimate goal is to make sure that every student in this city gets every resource that they need,” Dustin Gomez, a Verizon representative, explained. “That's why this is such a big opportunity for us to support that program."
Through the program volunteers teach reading to first, second, and third grade students who need a little extra help.
"I think what it does for us is it validates for our community what we do and the work that we do,” Verni Howard, Volunteers in Public Schools, said.
Program leaders say the money will help recruit and train new volunteers!
Those folks will be placed in schools throughout East Baton Rouge Parish.