Since October, Evelyn Bollinger has described her 4-year-old rescue dog, Daphne, as her “Velcro pup.” The duo does everything together, including reading. They recently took their love of books to the next level by joining SitStayRead, an initiative that encourages children to improve their literacy skills by reading to dogs.
“Reading is so important,” said Bollinger, a former pediatric nurse from Beverly. “I’ve always loved working with children, and this was a way for me to carry that on into retirement as well.”
Founded in 2003, SitStayRead began as a community outreach program at the Call of the Wild School for Dogs in Chicago. MaryEllen Schneider, who was managing the school at the time, was also volunteering at Rainbow Animal-Assisted Therapy with her dog, Shandy.
As Shandy neared age 10, she showed signs of aging and struggled with the more active aspects of volunteer work. However, Schneider realized that Shandy could still sit and stay with children as they read to her, leaving her to continue to bring value to the community while keeping Shandy engaged during her golden years.
Schneider eventually launched the literacy program, which is driven by animal-assisted learning. As of 2024, SitStayRead has supported more than 25,000 students, distributed over 60,000 books, and hosted countless literacy events across Chicago.
“We are a nonprofit organization that focuses on the importance of reading,” said Lessie Hernandez, volunteer program manager for SitStayRead.
All dogs in the program are certified reading dogs, including 12-year-old Pita of Chicago.
“We absolutely love SitStayRead; it’s been so much fun to be a part of it,” said Pita’s owner, Linda Trevino-Garcia. “If I ever win the lottery, I will be adopting hundreds of dogs, and they will all be involved in this program.”
Both Pita and Daphne visited Bookie’s – New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave., Chicago, on Saturday, March 8, to read with neighborhood children.
Bookie’s has long been a staple of the South Side, serving as an independent bookstore for nearly 30 years.
“As a local bookstore, we pride ourselves on connecting with customers,” said Bookies employee Luke Magruder. “We really look forward to hosting activities like this that they can enjoy.”
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