CGI U Commitment: Community Reading Project
CGI U Commitment-maker: Kirsten Hall, Tulane University
Kirsten Hall of Tulane University is returning to the CGI U Meeting this year in Austin, Texas with a commitment to expand upon her 2008 Community Reading Project. Recognizing a lack of student involvement in an elementary school in New Orleans, Hall created a “reading room” at the Lafayette Academy Charter School to provide students with reading tutors. In 2008, Kirsten’s program matched 50 Tulane volunteers with 200 local elementary school students, who met for one hour each week and received one-on-one attention. In 2009, Kirsten plans to engage students from universities in five other cities to follow her program model. She chose Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and St. Louis as expansion cities based on their concentration of both low-performing public schools and universities dedicated to community service. Kirsten views the pilot program as a success, noting: “To be completely honest, I couldn’t be more proud.” She is optimistic that the new programs also will thrive.
PROFILE
In celebration of its fifth year, the 2009 CGI Annual Meeting focused on results. Brad Pitt returned to the event to report on the commitment he made in 2007 to launch his Make It Right Foundation, devoted to building affordable, energy-efficient homes
