Our Story

Our Mission

Founded to share the joy and power of reading, New Haven Reads partners with the community to provide free one-on-one tutoring, educational family support, and a book bank to empower aspiring readers to master the literacy skills needed to thrive in school and life.

Our Vision

Working together to create a more just community, where all children can achieve lifelong success through the power of reading.

Our Values

Our Impact

Since New Haven Reads was founded in 2001, we have supported more than 7,000 students and distributed over 2.5 million books back into the community, thanks to the help of over 6,000 volunteers.

Today, the one-on-one tutoring program serves over 350 children in-person and online every week at four New Haven locations, our Book Bank distributed approximately 75,000 free books this past year. With our dedicated, professional staff and the commitment of over 300 volunteers, our free literacy programs support families in need and create skilled and confident readers.

Through the incredible power of literacy, New Haven Reads transforms the lives of children, their families, and the communities in which they live.

To learn more about our impact, please click here.

Our Story

New Haven Reads began in 2001 when our founder, Christine Alexander, ran a yearlong citywide literacy initiative at the request of New Haven’s mayor.