‘Read United’: Over 100 volunteer to read at preschools, daycares
Published 5:00 am Saturday, March 7, 2026
The nonprofit United Way of Southern Kentucky, widely known for operating the 211 help line, put out its annual call for volunteers who would read to preschoolers — and last week, more than 100 came through.
They came from aluminum manufacturing, radio and law; pet nutrition, higher ed and construction; banking, government and numerous other specialties. The UWSK-organized “Read United” initiative spanned Tuesday and Wednesday, with storytelling at 31 preschools and daycares in 106 classrooms across Allen, Barren, Hart, Logan, Simpson and Warren Counties.
The initiative aims to encourage literacy, reading and comprehension for the young children, as one of UWSK’s main focuses is kindergarten readiness, UWSK Community Engagement Manager Erin Caudill said.
“It’s just a fantastic program,” said Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman, who read at The Foundry. “I think the way you want to change the community for the better is to invest in the children in that community. We want to be supportive in any way possible for children to learn to read, to be proficient readers, and to do that for the rest of their lives (…).”
Volunteers had 30 minutes per classroom and read from a school book or their own, at times getting creative or adding a personal touch. In one instance, a teacher brought bunny ears for her group as she read to them a rabbit’s story; another brought one of her favorites, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
Ashley Carter, chief marketing officer at ELPO Law, said that as a mother of young children, she knew the importance of early-childhood reading.
“It’s something I believe in,” she said.
Ellie Adams, an arts and humanities professor at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, brought her son’s childhood book “This Way, Ruby!” into the classroom.
It was, she noted, the same day her son was getting his driver’s license.
“So, this is very sentimental for me, to read to all the kids,” she said with a laugh. “They grow so fast. Don’t they?”
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