World Book Day with Ed Connect

Today is World Book Day and the Geelong Community Foundation is proud to showcase the work of EdConnect.
The Gratton Institute reports that, in a typical Australian classroom of 24, eight students are unable to read well.
EdConnect East Coast General Manager Danie McNeil, said that literacy is an essential foundation in order to build engagement in school, to brighten employment prospects and encourage societal participation.
“We can appreciate there are additional pressures and demands being placed on families, such as a busy lifestyle, parents or guardians that are required to work, and the cost of living crisis, than can impact the opportunity for additional reading and literacy development at home,” said Danie.
“In addition, teachers are often faced with a classroom of students with different needs, which can be challenging to meet.
EdConnect places a volunteer in a classroom, working under the direction of the teacher, which acts as an extra set of adult eyes, ears and hands to provide support it is needed most.
“Typically, EdConnect volunteers can work with one consistent group of students, rove between tables or work individually with different students with the intention to support the conditions of learning, and build student learning outcomes and confidence,” said Danie.
“The majority of EdConnect volunteers in the Geelong and Surf Coast focus on literacy support through listening to students read, supporting classroom literacy learning strategies or through helping in the library, putting away books and creating book displays.”
EdConnect volunteers give anywhere between one to 15 hours per week to their local schools which provides significant support to both students and teachers.
Through the support of the Geelong Community Foundation, EdConnect has partnered with more than 20 schools in the Geelong and Surf Coast region to place trained, screened and matched intergenerational volunteers in roles that support students, classes, teachers and programs.
In 2023, over 4,700 volunteer hours were provided to Geelong and Surf Coast schools which directly supported over 1,700 local students. Breaking that down further, 48% of EdConnect volunteers’ time was spent directly supporting student literacy with 17% spent supporting library activities.
“This has all been made possible due to the support of the Geelong Community Foundation,” said Danie.
“This World Book Day, we thank and recognise the time, effort and passion of EdConnect volunteers to support local Geelong students with their literacy development and schools with library support. We know our volunteers are contributing to boosting students’ reading confidence and encouraging more students to pick up a book and read.”