Dear Friends,

As the past president of The Reading Group Board of Directors, I want to share with you the story of a young boy who came to The Reading Group back in the 1980s. It is a story that is close to my heart, because it is my story.

Growing up I was a bright, curious, well-adjusted kid who really struggled with reading in my early elementary years. Although I was promoted to fourth grade, I was sent back to the third grade class for reading. It was embarrassing to be singled out when all my friends stayed in our regular classroom. I hated reading aloud and the memories of trying to read aloud in class and stumbling over the words are still with me today.

My parents noticed I was becoming more and more discouraged with reading and so midway through my fourth grade year they enrolled me in The Reading Group. At The Reading Group I learned techniques to help me relax when reading and writing. I also learned how to isolate the sounds of each word. Today this is called "phonemic awareness" and research shows this is a key component to mastering reading.

I came to The Reading Group during all of fifth and sixth grade and though I don't remember any one significant breakthrough, I just knew it was working. In fifth grade I stayed in my regular classroom for reading and by eighth grade, I was in the top reading class!

I went on to graduate from the University of Illinois and today I am Assistant Vice President and a Branch Manager for First Federal Savings Bank of Champaign-Urbana. My wife, Jenny, is a grade school reading teacher in Champaign. Reading is the foundation all learning is built upon and I truly owe much of my success to the Reading Group for the help they provided me as a young child. Today, when mentoring or volunteering in our grade schools, I often see children experiencing the same frustrations in reading I encountered at their age. So many children and youth need the kind of help that the Reading Group can provide.

As the year draws to a close, I urge you to support The Reading Group so they can continue to provide these valued literacy services to our community:

Diagnostic testing
One-on-one instruction
Early childhood literacy programs
Workshops for parents and teachers
Tuition assistance for low-income families

As an alumnus of The Reading Group, I know first-hand that reading problems don't just go away. However, if children receive the proper tools, encouragement, and support, they can go on to lead productive and successful lives. For over 30 years The Reading Group has been helping children reach their full educational potential. Help us continue this legacy by generously supporting The Reading Group this holiday season. Give a Gift of Reading.

Sincerely,

Jason Eyman

Since 1972, The Reading Group, a not-for-profit learning center, has specialized in working with children and adults with attention problems, dyslexia, slowness in reading, and other puzzling learning problems.

The Reading Group Scholarship Program was established in 1990 to provide educational testing and one-on-one reading instruction for children from low-income families at no cost to the child's family. This program is funded entirely through grants and private contributions.

The Reading Group also has an Endowment Fund in place to ensure the growth and stability of our non-profit organization - the only one of its kind in the Central Illinois region. The Endowment Fund has grown from private contributions of generous individuals and companies and is now able accept donations in the form of monetary contributions as well as stock options.

Please join in helping The Reading Group maintain its excellent program by sending in your contribution today.

Secure online contributions to our scholarship fund can be made by clicking the following:

Contributions can also be mailed to:

The Reading Group 2902 Crossing Court, Suite B Champaign, IL 61822

Congratulations! You've turned to the right source for specialized reading instruction. The Reading Group is a not-for-profit learning center located in Urbana and Monticello. We’ve been serving this community for 35 years with highly specialized, one-on-one instruction. We offer lessons to students ages 3 and above, in most subject areas and for any skill level, including special needs such as dyslexia, speech and language developmental delay, ausperger's syndrome, autism or gifted learning needs.