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Rise & Read Inc., a nonprofit that two Manlius residents founded, held a socially distanced school supplies drive earlier this month to benefit refugees in Syracuse.

The organization collected school supplies such as notebooks and masks in partnership with Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment, a separate nonprofit that works with refugees and immigrants in Syracuse. Working with Rise & Read Inc. has helped the younger participants in the RISE program, said Elizabeth Bryson, education program director at RISE.

“It’s been incredible because the kids have had books to read over the summer, and (Rise & Read Inc.) tried to pair them by general interests and reading levels,” Bryson said. “They also made all the kids goodie bags with bookmarks and school supplies in them.”

What started as a conversation in an English class between Fayetteville-Manlius High School seniors Aine Hoye and Alexis Ahn became the nonprofit Rise & Read Inc. The goal of the nonprofit, which Hoye and Ahn founded, is to empower the central New York community through reading and writing, according to the organization’s Instagram account.

While working with the refugee community through her other nonprofit, SciExcite Inc., Ahn saw a need for more reading resources within the community and wanted to help address the problem.

Hannah Li has learned more about the hardships that the refugee and immigrant communities in Syracuse face. Courtesy of Hannah Li

Through working with Rise & Read Inc., Hannah Li has learned more about the hardships that the refugee and immigrant communities in Syracuse face. Li, a co-project manager and photographer at the nonprofit, hadn’t previously realized the difficulty of transitioning into the American public school system while trying to learn the English language.

While Rise & Read Inc. had to put many plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit has been able to partner with Syracuse organizations, such as Hopeprint, We Rise Above the Streets, Young Lives and Brookdale Senior Living Home, to bring books to the community.

“We’ve definitely had to adjust our projects quite a bit in a way that the people that we were working with would be comfortable because you have to be really sensitive with COVID and make sure everything is safe,” Hoye said.

The nonprofit has had to adapt to the challenges of organizing drives during a pandemic, said Ahn, the president of Rise & Read Inc. She had to personally drive to pick up books, which she would sanitize and package for donation with a small leadership team.

The first supplies drive held during the pandemic successfully collected over 2,500 books that were donated throughout the Syracuse area, Li said.

While the pandemic has limited the nonprofit’s work, it has also created a need for virtual services such as tutoring, Li said. The nonprofit is currently brainstorming ways to work with the school district to start a virtual tutoring program.

The organization collected school supplies such as notebooks and masks in partnership with Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment, a separate nonprofit that works with refugees and immigrants in Syracuse. Courtesy of Hannah Li

“With online learning, it’s really, really hard with young kids, we are hoping to help parents and teachers make the process easier by doing a reading buddy system,” Li said.

RISE has also reached out to Rise & Read Inc. to start a virtual tutoring program for both the younger and older participants in the program.

The program will benefit participants both academically and socially, and having tutors who are also mentors and positive role models is great for kids, Bryson said.

Rise & Read Inc. is always looking for new ways to pursue literacy within the Syracuse area and welcomes feedback from the community on how it can accomplish that goal, Hoye said .

“Reading and books were such a huge part of my childhood,” Hoye said. “I really just want other children to be able to have that opportunity to empower themselves.”

Published on September 22, 2020 at 11:36 pm