Check Out April Taylor’s Story

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Taylor.

Hi April, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After raising a guide dog puppy for Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc. we realized that we wanted a forever dog. My husband had a German Shorthaired Pointer when he was growing up. So we adopted Erma Opal, the cutest 8-week old puppy ever! I used all the teaching I received from the guide dog school and Erma turned out to be the friendliest, sweetest dog ever. So when she was one year old, I had her certified as a therapy dog. She was super at it. I knew I wanted to work with children so we also trained to become a Reading Assistance Education Dog (READing therapy dog). We began going to our local library and children could lay down on a dog bed and read to Erma. I quickly noticed some of the children really struggled at first but over time their reading skills and desire to read increased. So I developed the Reading with Erma program.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Once I had the idea for the program I had to convince the people that it would work. We started with libraries and a private school in Miami and it was an instant success. After we moved to Lakeland I reached out to local libraries but they didn’t seem interested. Then, an assistant principal at Lewis Anna Elementary School in Ft. Meade reached out to me and we started our weekly program. From there I found three other schools that wanted to have Erma read to their children. In 2020 we decided to make our program a 501c3 registered charity. This allowed us to accept donations and provide even more services to the children and schools at no cost to them.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Erma and I visit four elementary schools throughout Polk County. Every week we work with 32 children one-on-one in an effort to help them increase their reading confidence. Each child spends 15 minutes laying on a dog bed reading aloud to a nonjudgemental dog. We give each child a book of their own to take home after they have read 5 books. We also visit classrooms at each school and read to the class, educate the children about dogs and show how Erma can read flashcards. We provide books and treats for these classrooms weekly throughout the school year.

Reading with Erma also purchased a Book Vending Machine that is co-sponsored by Mid-Florida Bank. This colorful, cool machine holds books that the children can earn by doing good work and being super kids. The vending machine will rotate among all of the Title 1 elementary school.

Reading with Erma worked with the School Board and developed a program called Erma’s Books on the Bus. We collected over 80,000 books and distributed them to over 400 school buses! Children would have something to read on the bus and the selection of books would rotate on a monthly basis so the kids would have something new to read throughout the year. Children volunteered to be the “Bus librarians” to keep the books safe and in their containers.

Reading with Erma also sponsors a “StoryBook Pumpkin Contest” at local elementary schools where we provide pumpkins to the classrooms that they decorate as characters from a book and enter into a contest for prizes: pizza parties, movie parties with popcorn and cotton candy as well as visits with Erma and cupcakes!

Reading with Erma has also provided Free Little Libraries in our community. They are placed in migrants communities and at 4 elementary schools where access to libraries are limited. We build, install and maintain the libraries with books.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Since we began our program nine years ago, I have been so lucky to work with wonderful teachers, children and administrators. They are always looking for ways to enrich our children’s education. Reading with Erma has been a rewarding experience for myself and my family. We hope to continue helping children reach their potential through reading and developing a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@readingwitherma.com
• Website: readingwitherma.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/readingtherapydog