AUSTIN: The most adorable, rewarding half hour of your life!

Other potential subject lines for this post: "Won't someone think of the children?" and "This post is not about a rock show." ;)

Anyway, friends, have I got some fun for you! School has been in session now for three weeks, and teachers know enough about their students now to utilize volunteers. At Travis Heights Elementary, where I was a first grade teacher before I moved, they have a wonderful program called HOTS (Helping One Thunderbird Soar). It pairs an adult (YOU!) with a kid (GUARANTEED TO BE CUTE AND HILARIOUS AS HELL!*) who needs practice reading. All you do is show up for half an hour each week to sit and listen to your "reading buddy" in the colorfully cheerful yet suitably peaceful school library. (Remember how nice it was to be read to as a kid? It's still awesome as an adult.)

I was a HOTS mentor the year before I got my teaching certification and it was the best half hour of my week, every week. And you will be a highlight of your reading buddy's week -- giving a young child something extra to look forward to at school and, in some cases, the only grown-up who will give them undivided attention all week long. Think about that.

You don't have to be a teacher or anything remotely related -- you just have to be there for a kid. And in the end, I swear, you will feel like they're the ones helping you as much as vice versa. It's a truly crazy world we live in -- a world where Britney Spears somehow gets more attention than nuclear warheads accidentally flown over our country -- and this is a small but vital way to put your time into something that truly matters.

FYI, Travis Heights is located just south of downtown (between 35 and Congress, around Woodland/Annie) -- easy to get to and from on a lunch hour or before work. Oh, and the librarian who runs the program is a badass member of the Texas Rollergirls, so any friends of mine will probably love her. :)

If you're remotedly interested, you can message to ask me questions or just call the school at 414-4495 and ask for librarian Julie Underwood (AKA rollergirl Vendetta Von Dutch!). You can also go to my Myspace top friends and message Amber or Sarah -- both of them are going into their 3rd year as HOTS mentors and I know they love it!

The kids need y'all, and at the risk of sounding like a Texas car salesman (I can hear the voice in my head), you'll be glad you made the call! I gay-ron-tee!

LOVE & LITERACY,
Erin

P.S. -- CHICAGO folks, don't feel left out! I'll be back next week with info on how you can do your heart good by volunteering at Open Books. :) EVERYONE ELSE, call the school nearest you and ask how you can help. I'm sure they need you, too!

* Seriously, ask Amber about all the hysterical stuff her reading buddy told her this week during "getting to know you" time.