Scotiabank donates $10 000 to Babb’s reading clinic

The global pandemic has highlighted how critically important it is, now more than ever, to have access to literacy and learning support. Even before the pandemic, The Babb’s Reading Clinic has been helping young people enhance their literacy skills for the past five years.

This year, Scotiabank has contributed $10,000 towards the Reading Clinic to help male students who are about to enter Secondary School, and are in need of additional support to enhance their
literacy skills.

Specialist tutors provide these at-risk young men with free instructions in basic word recognition strategies, such as activating phonemic awareness and understanding structural analysis. Reading comprehension techniques such as, analyzing text structure, identifying the main idea in a passage and monitoring of comprehension are taught. The boys are also engaged in activities such as problem-solving scenarios and educational field trips.

Dr. Astra Babb – founder of the Reading Clinic commented: “I tell my students all the time – if you read you will learn, but you must learn to read.

“We aim to provide a foundation for our boys, to give them enough scaffolding to take with them as they transition to the next level of their quest for education.”

“Scotiabank has been a valuable partner in our quest to educate those boys who attend The Babb’s Reading Clinic. The funding we received from the Bank has helped us with the tutoring costs and purchasing books for each boy in the Reading Clinic. We are grateful to Scotiabank for its contribution,” she concluded.

In addition to the Reading Clinic’s timetable, Scotiabank facilitated a Financial Planning Workshop for the boys. Rico Layne, manager, Bridgetown Branch, shared money management tips and guidance on budgeting and savings in an interactive session.

Suzette Armoogam-Shah, managing director indicated: “These young boys form part of the future of Barbados so it’s important that we do our part to equip them with the tools to succeed.

We commend the Reading Clinic for this initiative that helps provide these boys with the necessary gateway to later academic success and resilience.”

Scotiabank remains committed to helping young people reach their full potential. (PR)