STAN'S STORY

Who he is and what he's doing

 Stan The Man stands for kindness!  Our founder learned many hard lessons at a young age with the loss of his father but has been able to turn that tragedy into a passion for helping children.  His father had an ambitious and hard-working spirit that he shared with his son. Stan grew up supported by strong service-minded mentors just like Stan the Man Sr.!   Uncles, teachers, even local community members picked up where his father left off! He now strives to become one of those important community members himself by sharing free books with children and teaching them the importance of connecting with others through kindness!  

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Stan founded Leap for Literacy after firsthand experience with the extraordinary lack of access to printed materials in at-risk communities! In fact, in a research study conducted with at-risk youth, researchers measured risk factors in relation to reading proficiency by the eighth grade and determined that 37% of students with one risk factor scored at a basic reading level.  When you increased to two risk factors the percent of students reading on a basic level in 8th grade jumped to 42% (Green, 1995)!  Stan started gathering free texts to share with students to help boost their at-home libraries and potentially boost reading levels!   He adopted acts of kindness as currency to give students the opportunity to choose free books from his exciting Read'nRoll  truck! Students can also participate in several other literacy based initiatives through his school partnerships.

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Stan has authored his story and published it to share with the world.  Stan and The Man tells of the strong bond that was fostered between father and son before his tragic passing but how his enduring traits blossomed into the man he has become today!  Click the above video for more insight. 

Green, Patricia & Scott, Leslie.  National Center for Education Statistics, At-Risk Eighth Graders Four Years Later.  July 1995. 

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