It was a big surprise to discover that Mrs Wendy Tuckerman, MP for Goulburn, had included Reading Friends Australia in her address to the NSW Parliament on the 24th of May.

We are very grateful to Mrs Tuckerman for the thoughtful and heartfelt words she chose to express the importance of the support we provide to local schools, and to praise the passion and commitment of our volunteers.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here for the transcript.

Late last year RFA was successful in securing funding from the NSW Regional Youth Office through the Children And Young People Wellbeing Initiative Project jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the NSW Government under the Disaster and Recovery Funding Arrangements.

29 May 2023

Last week we had the privilege of welcoming a representative of the NSW Regional Youth Office who came to see our projects in action.

Together we visited Moss Vale Public School where Mrs Marcon-Jones explained how reading practice is essential to the effectiveness of the literacy support programs run by the school.

On this occasion we also delivered the first batch of rewards to all the children participating in reading support activities.

At the end of the visit we met with several of our volunteers for the traditional End of Term Morning Tea, which provided another great opportunity to socialise, share experiences, and gather feedback.

Two volunteers will assist children and school staff with reading practice for up to 3 hours a week. "I really, really like Kangaloon - the school, the kids and the Principal - beautiful atmosphere". Said our Reading Helper on her first day on site.

We are pleased to announce that we are now fully operational in the Upper Hunter region with Volunteer Reading Helpers assisting children at Booral PS and Stroud PS.
Living in the area? Want to know more?
Talk to us and we will put you in touch with our local coordinator.

Reading Friends Australia’s Supporting Schools Improving Reading Skills in Children are among the successful projects announced for the Goulburn electorate under the NSW Government’s Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative.

Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman said the aim of the program is to support recovery and boost resilience for young people in the region following the impacts of natural disasters and COVID-19.

“I’m thrilled to announce support for Reading Friends Australia to help children in our community bounce back stronger than ever in the wake of COVID-19 disruptions and natural disasters,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“The Supporting Schools Improving Reading Skills in Children K-6 - Expansion is a great example of how we can help young people recover, build resilience and improve wellbeing by providing them with the tools and resources they need to become the best version of themselves.”

Fabulous weekly appointment for the little ones and everyone who loves to hear a good story while having some fun.

Kindly hosted by the Wingello Village Store, our interactive reading sessions will run every Tuesday from 10.30am.

Over 2,000 preloved children's books have been distributed to disadvantaged families in the community of the Southern Highlands since last year.

The books are donated to us by private families whose children have outgrown them or by public institutions.

We kick started a year ago with a library culling at Moss Vale Public, while Oxley College run an extremely successful book drive for us during Book Week in August.

Mittagong RSL awarded us with $500 to purchase books from local op-shops, should our stock run low.

When we first started this project we did not know if it would work, now we have children lining up at the Blue Boxes waiting for refills!

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers we were able to provide an equivalent of 480 one-on-one reading sessions to the children of Moss Vale Public over the last 7 months.

Over thirty people joined us for a cuppa and some delicious treats this morning at Cafe' 1925 in Bowral.

It was a lovely opportunity to make new friends and win some spectacular prizes.

As always, our volunteers were our biggest supporters and they turned up in numbers providing first-hand feedback on their experiences to our guests.

Money raised will be used to cover part of our essential running costs.
16/11/2022

This morning we held our very first Story Time session in Mittagong, thank you to Neeny's Playhouse for giving us the opportunity to trial this new service.
14/10/2022