Time Warner Cable and Time to Read, Devoted to Child Literacy

Time Warner Cable is committed to improving communities across the nation. Time to Read is a mentoring program, created by Time Warner Cable, designed to address the nation’s low literacy rates amongst children.

How is literacy defined? In the National Literacy Act of 1991, Congress defined literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society.”

Time Warner founded Time to Read in 1985. The volunteer program now operates in various communities in the United States, with more than 6,500 children and mentors participating. Time to Read caters to children and teenagers in grades four through six who read at, or above, the fourth-grade level. Program volunteers help children succeed in school by serving as both tutors and role models, building stronger reading skills and self-esteem.

Time to Read is the largest corporate-sponsored volunteer program in the nation. Community volunteers, including many Time Warner Cable employees, devote countless hours of personal time to the program. Time to Read provides training, reading materials, specialized curriculums, and site evaluations to each program facility. The reading materials are donated to Time to Read’s participants, providing the child with a reading resource for the home.

The Council on Economic Priorities’ Corporate Conscience Award, the President’s Volunteer Action Award, and the Points of Light Foundation Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service have been presented to Time to Read for its commitment to child literacy.

Time Warner’s various divisions, including Time Inc, Home Box Office (HBO), and the Turner Networks, have sponsored local volunteer programs, encouraging employees, students, and community residents to participate.