An effort to teach young Buffalo children to read and attend school is slowing paying off. A leader from The Annie E. Casey Foundation has delivered a Pacesetter Community Award for Buffalo's Read to Succeed program.
Casey Foundation Vice President Ralph Smith appeared at the My Precious Angels Child Care on Bailey Avenue Tuesday. Smith praised the local work for early childhood reading.
"The mantra is invest in early learning. Early is not must a mantra, it's got to be a strategy and commitment and here in Buffalo we are seeing that commitment come to life in very important ways," said Smith.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has teamed with M&T's Buffalo Promise Neighborhood to support the reading program in the Bailey Avenue neighborhood.
"But this funding collaborative that you've put together here, that has really stepped up to what we call the stewardship obligation," stated Smith. "This is quite special."
Other local partners in the effort include The John R. Oishei Foundation and the United Way of Erie County.
Read to Succeed leaders announced 96 percent of the students are exceeding their literacy goals this year.
"We are invested in realizing the full potential of all members of our community," said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President & CEO of the Community Foundation For Greater Buffalo.
Buffalo was the only community in the state to receive the national 'Pacesetter' award.
