According to 2015 KIDS COUNT data, 67 percent of African American children live in single parent families, often with their mother or grandmother, with few adult male role models. Combined with the heartbreaking poverty rate for children of 49 percent, young people’s needs are many. Positive experiences in daycares can offset difficult home environments and help children start learning the skills they will need when they enter school. Real Men Read is a program that creates excitement for learning and the beginnings of a love for reading and lifelong learning.

Real Men Read is an outreach program for the Library. It touches young children ages 3-5 each week and establishes basic reading skills and comprehension. It is an early introduction to the library for the young people who will eventually visit to find books, information, programs, services and much more. The library is free and open to the public and welcomes new young customers. The Real Men Read program presents the opportunity to take the love of learning and reading out to the community.

Real Men Read reaches hundreds of children each year. There are currently 22 volunteer readers with backgrounds that range from professors, newspaper editors, artists, chemists, teachers, to entrepreneurs, and more. Real Men Read has visited dozens of local daycares, and is welcomed by staff and even more so by the children.