On today's show, we talk with Deborah Valdez and Mary Flannigan of San Antonio Youth Literacy.  Ethan Dettenmaier brings us an interview with hard rock guitarist and songwriter, George Lynch.  In our Kid Hero segment, Bruce Gale talks with one of our earlier Kid Heroes, Katie Stagliano.

Studies have repeatedly shown a link between poverty and education. 

The opportunity gap for low-income young children starts early in life and is hard to reverse. There is much scientific research that shows that high-quality early care and learning is essential to reducing this gap.  However, frequently children in poverty do not have access to the same educational resources as those children from higher-income families during this most critical time.

These young children suffer in the classroom.  Poverty-stricken youth show higher rates of academic failure. Children from poor families are twice as likely to repeat a grade, and they are about 10 times as likely to drop out of high school.

Poverty widens this opportunity gap for these children and it only grows as they get older.  More than two-thirds of poverty-stricken households do not possess a single book developmentally appropriate for a child under five.

In low-income communities, children enter school an average of 12 to 14 months behind their peers from higher-income brackets.  Children who aren’t reading at grade level by the end of third grade are four times as likely to drop out of high school.

This brings us to today's highlighted nonprofit, San Antonio Youth Literacy...

San Antonio Youth Literacy (SAYL) provides one-on-one support to children in San Antonio by empowering them with the skills needed to read to learn while fostering self-confidence and an enjoyment of reading. @SAYouthLiteracy

Their 2nd Grade Reading Buddy program is an early intervention program focused on promoting the literacy skills of elementary school-aged children who are at-risk of school failure due to poor reading skills.  They train adult volunteers to become SAYL Reading Buddies who tutor students in over 65 elementary schools and program sites throughout San Antonio.  

The SAYL Book Buddies Initiative collects books suitable for kids in Pre-K through 8th grade to be given out at the end of the school year at free book fairs in SAYL Reading Buddy schools.

Last month, Bev had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Deborah Valdez, Executive Director and Mary Flannigan, Director of Communications & Partnerships.

George Lynch is a hard rock guitarist and songwriter who, as many of you know, fronts the band, Lynch Mob. George is considered one of the most influential figures in the 1980’s heavy metal music scene. The past few years, 2015-2018 have seen some of George Lynch’s most prolific recording projects. @georgelynchfanpage

With a career spanning more than forty years, George has recorded more than thirty albums, toured the globe many times and is the one of the most recognizable endorsees of the world’s finest guitars and equipment.  When George is not recording, writing or touring, he’s creating incredible collector’s art guitars under his Mr. Scary Guitars brand.

Our co-host Ethan Dettenmaier had the opportunity to sit down with George...

Katie’s Krops was founded in 2010 by Katie Stagliano, who in 2008 at the tender age of 9 grew a 40-pound cabbage in her backyard from a tiny cabbage seedling she brought home from school as part of the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program.  She donated it to a soup kitchen where it helped feed 275 people.  

 Moved by the experience of seeing how many people could benefit from the donation of fresh produce to soup kitchens, Katie decided to start vegetable gardens and donate the harvest to help feed people in need.  Katie’s Krops growers are a part of a non-profit organization empowering youth ages 9 – 16 all across the country to grow gardens and donate their fresh harvest to those in need.  The organization currently has over 100 youth-run gardens in 31 states. The ultimate goal is to plant 500 gardens and reach all 50 states.

In today’s Kid Hero segment, Bruce Gale brings us an earlier interview with Katie, discussing her efforts to feed the hungry.