LeseLust – Reading Mentors for Berlin
Project Partner
The Bürgerstiftung Berlin is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation established in 1999 by civil society under the patronage of Wolfgang Thierse. It is active in the Berlin metropolitan area and develops sustainable, inclusive, diversity-conscious educational projects for children, young people, families, and seniors in daycare centers, schools, family centers, and retirement homes. It also acts as an unbureaucratic, idea-generating platform for donors who want to invest their private assets in their own foundation or endowment fund.
Project Information
The Bürgerstiftung Berlin stands for: IN BERLIN FOR BERLIN. It offers numerous projects for all city residents to actively participate in shaping social life in the city. The reading promotion project LeseLust is a specially developed mentoring project that instills enthusiasm for stories and everyday interaction with books in Berlin kindergarten and elementary school children. Over 200 reading mentors volunteer their time for this project.
Reading skills are an indispensable key qualification for all areas of life:
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For success in school and later access to the job market
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For active participation and involvement in social and cultural life
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For forming individual opinions and confidently dealing with media.
Through regular reading aloud, listening, and storytelling, children playfully expand their vocabulary and improve their ability to express themselves. Consistent dialogical reading sessions encourage schoolchildren to read on their own and spark a desire to learn to read in daycare children.
How did the Diyi for Kids Foundation provide support?
The volunteer reading mentors reached over 1,500 children across Berlin every week at 35 institutions, reading with them in dialogue or looking at picture books. In doing so, they supported the efforts of many local teachers and introduced the children to the world of reading and books. By working in small groups or sometimes with just one child, the reading sessions were a great benefit for schools, daycare centers, parents, and the children themselves. The reading mentorships have been in place at the schools for several years and are an integral part of the curriculum.
The Diyi for Kids Foundation thought the commitment of the volunteer reading mentors through the Berlin Community Foundation was wonderful and supported it:
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Welcome package for a reading mentor – €25
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Exchange meeting for reading mentors – €100
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Thematic training for reading mentors – €250
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Implementation of LeseLust at a daycare center or school for a whole year – €1,000.
In total, more than 1,500 girls and boys aged 3 to 10 benefited from the activities of Berliner LeseLust every week, with 400 hours of reading promotion per week.
Country of Project
Deutschland / Berlin
Period for Donations
2021 – 2024
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