VOLUNTEERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE  
excerpted from an article by Lee Solonche, School Media, Dec. 2014

To leverage the appeal of children's programs to promote family literacy, Vegas PBS launched their "Ready to Learn (RTL)" more than fifteen years ago.  Since then, RTL has grown and thrived through the support of grants, foundations and businesses.  In addition to financial support, a small army of dedicated volunteers donated their time and energy to ensure the success of the educational efforts of Vegas PBS.  Annually, tens of thousands of families are served through more than 1,000 RTL family engagement workshops across Southern Nevada.  To prepare for the workshops, thousands of take-home resource kits must be put together.  Vegas PBS had two enthusiastic volunteer groups work with them for their community service projects.

Twenty energetic Steelcase employees visiting Las Vegas competed against each other to see who could complete the most nutrition resource packets during their two-hour stay.  They even calculated how many calories the activity burned!  Overall, volunteers compiled 1,665 nutrition packets containing a new book, resource handouts, materials to create a healthy 

shopping list and an interactive "good nutrition" game for kids.  

Tracy VanderMeer, coordinator for Steelcase volunteers, commented, "Thank you so much for your hospitality and for allowing our folks to come work on a project that is so meaningful to the community. It's exactly what we were hoping for.  They had a great time doing it!"

Students and staff from Kaplan College (see photo) also devoted "Make a Difference Day" by compiling more than 3,022 dental health kits.  Working assembly-line fashion, volunteers filled kits with new dental health books, toothbrushes, flossers and resource information.  Student Success Coordinator, Cheryl Cohen, wrote, "Thank you so very much for allowing us to participate.  I was surprised to see just how much you guys offer the Las Vegas community. We truly had a great time helping to put together these packets."

Vegas PBS is grateful to all the volunteers who help throughout the year.  Their volunteers are a trusted, valued and essential part of the Vegas PBS Family!