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Reading Aloud In Wilmington, Del.

A Read Aloud Delaware volunteer reads to a student.

Read Aloud Delaware — headed by Executive Director Mary Hirschbiel and more than 800 volunteers — is making a noticeable impact in Wilmington.

When you read to the same children time and again, Mary says, "you see changes in their vocabulary, their ability to answer in complete sentences, and gradually the ability to have a conversation."

Quick story: After weeks of waiting for a volunteer to read aloud to her, a young girl got her chance. It was her fourth birthday and the girl said that being read to was her "birthday wish."

Joseph Dewson III is a freelance writer in Newark, Del. He listens to WXPN.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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