Coming Together, Working Together, Making A Difference

Volunteering For Oakland (VFO) is now focused on our Dictionary Day project. Third grade is the target year for growing literacy. Literacy encompasses more than just words, language and usage. The Student’s Dictionary/Gazetteer we give to Oakland third graders is a general Reference Book that enhances literacy in the broader sense, with over 150 pages of supplemental information. Key features include the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, brief biographies of all U.S. Presidents, World Maps, the Multiplication Table, information about the Continents, all 50 States, Countries of the World, and the Planets in our Solar System.

VFO is committed to continuing our mission of serving students in under-resourced schools. In the 2022-2023 academic year, VFO volunteers returned to third grade classrooms in 29 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Schools and distributed 1,711 dictionaries to third graders, after several years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VFO eagerly awaits a return to pre-pandemic distribution levels (2,000+ dictionaries) in the 2023-2024 academic year and years to come!

We welcome regular or occasional volunteers to assist with classroom visits during the school year. If interested, please contact Adele@volforoak.org.

Interested in becoming a board member? Please click here.

See What We Do for more information on Dictionary Day, including testimonials.

Please consider a modest donation to allow us to expand our existing programs and implement new ones. Click here to donate.