Altrusa International of St. Augustine has received a $4000.00 grant from the Altrusa International Foundation. The grant will benefit the INK! (Investing in Kids), Five Learning Years (FLY) program which provides small group literacy intervention to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students in the St Johns County, FL school system. This literacy program identifies and treats young children at risk for reading failure.

With this grant, students scoring in the bottom 60th percentile are placed in groups of four to work with experienced FLY teachers. The goal is for these students to be aligned with their peers in reading ability by the end of the funding period in 2021. FLY is designed to improve student results by 100 percent or more.

The funding will also be used to assist underprivileged children with literacy help, among those who live in low-income communities or who are on free or reduced lunch in Title I elementary schools.

Altrusa Club members will be participating in the program with volunteers to help teachers and students with school supplies, fundraising events, community assistance opportunities, and social media.

Altrusa has been involved with literacy in St. Johns County schools since 2010, when the club began offering scholarships at the First Coast Technical College. The club also provides panties and socks for the system’s Head Start Program.