YOUTH OPPORTUNITY
We're Focused on Improving Childhood Literacy in Rockford and Winnebago County
If children are the future, their now matters.
Literacy is key. At United Way Rock River Valley, Youth Opportunity means helping children build the reading skills they need early, so they can succeed in school and in life.
Through our United for Literacy initiative, we are focused on one critical goal: making sure more children in Rockford and Winnebago County enter school ready to read, learn, and thrive.
Taking a stand in early childhood literacy
United for Literacy is our community-wide effort to address the early literacy crisis in Winnebago County.
We work with the people who matter most in a child’s life, from families and caregivers to schools and community agencies, to connect young children with the support they need to develop strong reading skills. Because when children learn to read early, everything that follows becomes possible.
Why early reading matters
When United for Literacy launched in 2023, less than 1 in 3 Winnebago County third grade students were assessed to have reading scores that met expectations. In 2025, only 36.75% of third-grade students in Winnebago County were assessed as reading at a proficient level.
By fourth grade, school instruction shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Kids are required to read to learn history, word problems in math, and more.
Children who fall behind before this point face a much higher risk of:
- Academic failure
- High school dropout
- Poverty and unemployment later in life
This is not a school problem alone. It is a community problem, and one we can change.
Our BOLD GOAL is for 75% of third-graders to be reading at grade level or above by 2034.
How we are working to achieve this goal
THE UNITED FOR LITERACY APPROACH
We focus on three groups in Winnebago County to help children succeed: children, parents and caregivers, and the community.
Early learning builds the foundation for a child’s future. It supports how children think, learn, and communicate. During the first five years of life, a child’s brain develops rapidly. This is when children learn language, build social skills, and begin to understand the world around them.
When children are read to early and often, they develop stronger vocabulary, listening skills, and confidence. These skills help children enter school ready to learn and stay on track as they grow. Children who have strong early reading experiences are more likely to succeed in school and in life.
Programs like United for Literacy support families and communities during these critical years. By investing early, we can help ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Programs for Children
Total Investment 2024-25: $447,809
- Reach Out and Read in all health systems
- Read-alouds and independent reading
- Literacy support in daycares and schools
- Community Story Times
- Comprehensive book distribution
- Tiny Turners (ages -3)
- Page Turners (early childhood)
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Programs for Caregivers
Total Investment 2024-25: $123,000
- Family Literacy Nights
- Engagement materials and instruction
- Training and outreach
Programs for Community
Total Investment 2024-25: $53,500
- Training and Professional Development
- Advocacy
- Public awareness messaging
- Additional book distribution
Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read is a national pediatric literacy program brought to Winnebago County by United Way Rock River Valley and local health partners. It integrates literacy into well-child visits, providing young learners with books and coaching on reading aloud during routine healthcare appointments.
The program supports families with children from birth through age five by giving age-appropriate books and encouraging daily shared reading routines — helping children build language, early literacy skills, and stronger home learning environments.
United Way partners with healthcare systems and secured key funding so more children will receive literacy support where they already go for care, ensuring that reading is part of every well visit.
January 2026 Update: Reach Out & Read is now available at all Crusader Health Clinics.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a free book-gifting program that mails high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth until age five. United Way Rock River Valley funds this program locally so families can build a home library and foster a love of reading early.
Children enrolled in the program receive a new book in the mail monthly — helping ensure that every child has access to books, regardless of income. This builds literacy foundations before school and supports long-term learning success.
The Imagination Library is partially supported by state grants and community donors; United Way’s support helps sustain this powerful early literacy resource in Winnebago County.
A strong start changes everything
When children read well by third grade, they are far more likely to graduate, find stable work, and lead healthy lives. Your support helps give more children in Winnebago County the strong start they deserve.
2024-2025
By the Numbers
123,798
Books Delivered in Winnebago County
$319,323
In Literacy Grants to Over 20 Partner Agencies
Funded Partners
With such a bold goal, there is no way one organization could make that kind of progress alone. To change something as complex as literacy, you need all hands on deck!
Proposal Process
Each fiscal year we request proposals from local agencies. In these proposals, they explain their connection to literacy and what kind of project they would like to work on for the year. United Way reviews these ideas with a committee of experts and provides funding via grants to the strongest proposals with the greatest potential impact for the community.
Agencies can apply for funding again every year, but previous participation does not guarantee future approval. Every proposal is fairly evaluated by the committee to ensure our donors' dollars go towards the most effective programs possible.
2025-26 Partners & Projects
Service Grants
- Boys & Girls Club of Rockford
Expanding book clubs, storytimes, and independent reading. Staff will facilitate gathering data on children’s progression. - Brightpoint
Supporting literacy work and events within the Crisis Nursery. - Easterseals
Onsite Literacy Specialist to work with parents as well as provide literacy kits. - Harlem School District
1. Preschool for All: Partner with families and community members to foster academic and social-emotional learning success in preschoolers
2. Prenatal to 3 Prevention Initiative: In-home support for families before their children enter school - Regional Office of Education
Science of Reading training for K-3rd grade teachers. - Rockford Public Library
Provide training for other partners, parents, and volunteers for United for Literacy programming. - Rockford Public Schools (RPS 205)
Literacy events through RPS’s Prevention Initiative program to involve dads in literacy. - YMCA of Rock River Valley
Five site pilots revising Kids Care afterschool program to include intentional literacy instruction from certified teachers. - YWCA of Northwestern Illinois
Supporting 86 childcare facilities with interactive reading modeling, books, and literacy kits for over 1,000 kids monthly.
Book Distribution Grants
- Alignment Rockford
1. Newborn Basics Kits: given to new moms and incorporates Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
2. Ready to Learn Book Spaces: books to sustain current spaces - Brooke Road United Methodist Church
Books to continue Reader’s Night In and Reader’s Weekend (family) at Brooke Road Community Center. - Durand Charm
Incorporating literacy into numerous community events, supporting classrooms with books. - Junior League of Rockford
Books for existing vending machines and family literacy nights. - Severson Dells
Books to supplement year-round STEM & science programs. - South Beloit School District
Books to support early childhood and elementary classrooms. - Trinity Day Care
1. Books and activities
2. Books for all to build home libraries
3. Preschool to age 8 family literacy nights
4. Toddler to 2 family literacy nights - Jackson Charter School
Books for supporting classrooms. - YMCA of Rock River Valley
Books for Childrens’ Learning Center classrooms.