Volunteer Events
Annual Events
At Jumpstart, we know that reading aloud with preschool children lays the groundwork for strong literacy skills and future success in school and in life. Jumpstart's Read for the Record is a campaign designed to bring attention to the importance of early education. By encouraging hundreds of thousands of children and adults to read the same book on the same day, Jumpstart aims to make early education a national priority. For more about Read For The Record click here: Read for the Record at Jumpstart .
Upcoming Events
Barnes and Noble: Jumpstart Parade of Puppets
Jumpstart UM is partnering with Barnes and Noble and April 2 for a fun afternoon of children's literature and puppet activities. All families are invited to join us for this unique experience from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.. Barnes and Noble is located at 3235 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor For more information or to volunteer, please contact Julia Dean at julidean@umich.edu or 734-647-4816.
Kid's Fair
Jumpstart UM is a participant in the annual K-Grams Kid's Fair. We have lots of volunteer opportunities as we prepare a game event for the hundreds of children who will participate in this fun-filled day. For more information, click here to visit Kid's Fair . To volunteer with Jumpstart please contact Julia Dean at julidean@umich.edu or 734-647-4816.
Past Volunteer Events
Barnes and Noble MusicalZoo
Jumpstart UM partnered with Barnes and Noble in Ann Arbor for a fun afternoon of music, children's literature and activities. We had a number of volunteers from the University of Michigan's school of music interpret stories through their instruments. Children had the opportunity to hear and play a violin, bass, flute, and drums. They made a story character puppet and enjoyed retelling the story.
Art Night
Jumpstart Corps members and local volunteers partnered with Eastern Washtenaw Multiculteral Academy for Art Night. Families were invited to participate in a variety of fun art activities that had a literature focus. Children enjoyed plopping white paint on blue paper inspired by the book, It Looked Like Spilt Milk.
Other tables included book inspired art such as making bugs from sticky foam, pipe cleaners and colored paper; designing a boomerang and making a bookmark. A caricature artist was a big hit with the families as was the large book reading area.
Jumpstart Library Storytimes
Jumpstart hosted Saturday Storytimes for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners at the local Ann Arbor libraries every other week. Volunteers read children's stories, lead group songs, and help preschool-aged children with fun, open-ended craft activities.
Please contact Julia Dean at julidean@umich.edu for more information about volunteering for storytimes.
