I would like to nominate the Youth Volunteer Program of Volunteers of America (VOA), Denver, for the YourHub.com award.

The Youth Volunteer Program works closely with Head Start, an education program for disadvantaged children, and the Rainbow House, a Volunteers of America program, in Denver, which serves children infected or affected by HIV/Aids. In the program, high school youth volunteers spend time reading one on one with the kids in their classrooms. The youth volunteers engage the kids in reading, pointing out letters and pictures on the pages, and asking them questions to keep them engaged. They help them write their names in their books, which the kids are very excited about getting to keep and take home with them. The youth volunteers are positive role models and mentors. The kids truly value the one on one attention from the "big kids", especially those kids who are not getting enough attention elsewhere in their lives. For some kids, the youth volunteers are the only people who read to them, and the books they get to take home might be the only ones they own.

In the past, VOA has been able to meet its need for books through generous donations of surplus books from publishers. Now, however, the publishers are cutting down on the number of books being published, which leaves fewer surplus books to read and give to the kids. The generous YourHub.com award would help VOA buy books to continue this valuable program. The award will help put a prized book in the hands of kids who deserve every chance to read, learn, and succeed.

I have been an adult volunteer with Volunteers of America for almost 2 years. Thank you for your consideration of VOA's Youth Volunteer Program for the YourHub.com award.

Jennifer Hofmann