Pacer Program

Mission

The BookMates Interfaith Literacy Program is a social justice program of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey and the Catholic-Jewish Commission. The mission of BookMates is to provide a nurturing, one-to-one literacy experience for at-risk children that will encourage them to develop a love of reading and will provide them with a foundation to succeed in school and in life.

Since its inception in 1999, BookMates has worked to improve literacy skills by providing weekly one-to-one reading sessions with caring adult volunteers for more than 3,000 disadvantaged students in kindergarten through third grade. Many of these children are rarely read to at home and benefit greatly from the volunteers’ individualized attention. As they share the joy of reading, the volunteers also expose the children to a wide range of literature, expand their vocabulary, help improve their comprehension skills, and increase their motivation to read.

This partnership between the City of Camden, Camden County Police Department (Metro Division), Cherry Hill Police Department, Evesham Police Department and JCRC of SNJ's BookMates, police officers will be matched with kindergarten or first grade students in their own school districts. It is our desire to provide these students not only with a specially trained reading partner but also with a mentor, role model, and trusted resource.