It is quite interesting when something small becomes something big over time. I’m not talking about compounded interest though the results are quite similar. Or my rapidly growing middle, softer in time. I’m talking about reading 30 minutes to a young student during lunch – over 25 years. The truth is – I started doing this quite egotistically as part of an accumulation of effort around a software startup back in 1996. We had grown the company a bit and hired people and I wanted to set an example – be the better man, be a bigger man. I’m not hiding my motivation here – i really just wanted to be cool.
Everybody Wins! is a terrific organization that had just been gaining traction nationwide. Power Lunch they called it and I simply went to an elementary school and read for 30 minutes once a week. They paired me with a child that needed a little help catching up on their reading level. In a word, hearing me read, gaining interest in the story, knowing I cared enough to be there – that all mattered. Some of these kids don’t have this at home – parents that read to them, or parents that read. The act of hearing the words changes their brain and helps their vocabulary. They look at reading in a different light and perhaps want to read themselves. This became interesting to me. And I stuck with it over the years. For 25 years from 97 to 2022. I might have started in 98 but who’s counting.
Well Everybody Wins was counting and they gave me a little award, honored me for it at this years banquet and that was kind of nice. They call me a mentor – but to be honest I think I’ve learned just as much. So just show up, persist on the days you don’t want to, consider the other, in the end it all adds up.