San Antonio Chapter of The Links, Incorporated Encouraging East Side Students to Read

San Antonio, TX– As kids go back to school, it’s no secret that the seventh largest city in the United States has one of the lowest literacy rates. San Antonio is ranked No. 76 out of 82 cities in terms of literacy. September is National Literacy Month and 25 percent of San Antonians cannot read, according to a Central Connecticut State University’s annual America’s Most Literate Cities study.

The San Antonio Chapter (TX) of The Links, Incorporatedis taking one step to help the community. Through a nine-month program with the East Side Boys & Girls Club, the organization of professional women committed to friendship and service will be working with middle school students to encourage them to read, “Vote! The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez,” by Diana Gallagher. Along with this initiative, students will be rewarded for each book read and the most books read. Since 2015, the San Antonio Links Chapter has provided creative and engaging presentations for up to 50 students in grades 6-12 at the East Side Boys and Girls Club.

“This initiative alone won’t solve the problem of illiteracy in San Antonio, but it’s a positive step in the right direction with measurable impact, especially within the minority community,” said San Antonio Links President Paula Miles.

According to the Texas Education Agency, 68.5 percent of students met minimum standards for the third-grade reading STAAR test. SA2020, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to drive progress toward a vision for a thriving San Antonio, has a goal to increase that indicator to 85% of  third-grade students passing the reading portion by 2020.

In addition to the East Side Boys and Girls Club, the San Antonio Chapter of The Links will once again partner with The San Antonio Book Festival with the objective of helping to bring more African American authors to the city.

Last April, a significant donation from The Links helped to put “Well-Read Black Girl: Finding our Stories, Discovering Ourselves” by author Glory Edim into the hands of hundreds of female students at Wagner High School. The author also led a book and author symposium for these young ladies, exposing them to not only the book but the entire writing and publishing process. Experiences like these can open doors to new opportunities for young people and The Links Incorporated is excited about enabling similar literacy-focused experiences.

The San Antonio Chapter of The Links Incorporated will celebrate its 60^th  anniversary of service and friendship throughout 2020 with a signature community event scheduled for September 2020. Through the chapter’s endowed scholarship fund at St. Philip’s College and scholarships awarded to graduating high school seniors, more than $100,000 has been awarded to area students over the years.