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Hillsborough Campaign for Grade Level Reading

United Way Suncoast serves as the lead agency for the Campaign for Grade Level Reading efforts in Hillsborough County. This national initiative unites more than 300 local community campaigns across the U.S. with the goal of increasing the number of children who read on grade level by the end of third grade. This milestone makes it more likely for children to graduate high school on time and have a fulfilling college experience or career.

Our local uniting goals are:

  • More children will enter kindergarten ready to learn
  • More children will read on grade level by the end of third grade

We are fortunate that key strategic community partners and local families are working with us to develop our community plan.  Seminole Elementary, in Seminole Heights, and the 33604 zip code area are the focus of our campaign.

Strategic Community Partners

  • Bess the Book Bus, Inc. +
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay *+
  • Champions for Children +
  • Children’s Board of Hillsborough County *
  • Children’s Home Network +
  • Early Childhood Council of Hillsborough County +
  • Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County *+
  • Frameworks of Tampa Bay, Inc. *
  • Healthy Start Coalition *
  • Hillsborough County Public Schools *
  • Hillsborough Early Learning Coalition *
  • Hillsborough Early Learning Network *
  • Hispanic Services Council *+
  • Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research Foundation +
  • Metropolitan Ministries +
  • myON Electronic Book Library *
  • Preserve Vision Florida +
  • Seminole Elementary *
  • Seniors in Service +
  • Sunrise Group (formerly United Cerebral Palsy of Hillsborough County) +
  • Tampa Family Health +
  • Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative *
  • Tampa Metropolitan YMCA *
  • University of South Florida *

*Original Partner
+ Strategic Investment Partner of United Way Suncoast

Current Community Efforts

Parent focus groups and development of a parent committee ensure that families are part of the planning of the services. To join our parent/family group, or for more information, please contact Nicole Brown at nbrown@uwsuncoast.org or 813-274-0938.

Seminole Elementary in conjunction with Feeding Tampa Bay hosts a weekly food distribution for families.  Every Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00 pm frozen meals are made available to anyone in need.

United Way Suncoast’s Reading All-Stars program has a partnership with Seminole Elementary. Students have access to free virtual tutoring (due to the pandemic). Coming soon: in-person tutoring at Seminole Elementary. Community volunteers are a part of this program’s success. Frameworks of Tampa Bay Teens in Action participants also serve as volunteers in this program.

United Way Suncoast hosts a monthly learning community meeting focused on grassroots outreach and collaboration within this community. This group is focused on increasing the number of referrals organizations make to each other and planning ways to reach out to families at times, locations, and mechanisms that meet their needs.

Several community partners are participating in a Lectio Learning community.  This Harvard-based program trains literacy partners to evaluate and improve their literacy-focused services to increase impact.  This process is also allowing us to develop a map of literacy services for the neighborhood.

Through our strategic community impact funding, we are able to support 13 partners in their efforts to serve residents of 33604.

These other United Way Suncoast Education Programs also support the Hillsborough Campaign for Grade Level Reading goals:

Education

United Way Suncoast brings together people and resources to tackle complex issues and drive sustainable positive change to help our community thrive.

Improve the lives of children, families and
communities today.

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