Steele founded Helping Enrich D.C., a nonprofit promoting local, inner-city literacy. Steele started the EarPhone Project and asked volunteers to make recordings of children’s stories. The readings are available through a toll-free number and online. The more than 80 stories are pulled from local curricula and the top reading lists at the D.C. Public Libraries, and the EarPhone Project are still accepting volunteer readers. How did the EarPhone Project start?
I wanted to create something that was supplementary to what children where doing in their daily school curriculum. I see kids on the telephone all the time, at all different ages, I see them using computers, and I thought, “How can I use each of these things to create vehicle to address literacy?”
What is the recording process like?
Volunteers come in and they select from the books. They’re across the board, different genres and different ages. We ask them to say who the author is, the title of the book and then ask them to say what their profession is. This is in line with children’s growth to let children see what the possibility of a career path could be and something that might not be something that they’re familiar with. It’s very quick.
What has been the children’s response to the readings?
I’ve tried them out on my family, and on my nieces and nephews. They’re very excited about them. One of my nephews said, “I need to go back and start over so I can find out what the name of that book and author is.”
How does the program fit into the summer months?
This program is actually geared for a summer supplement. They’re out of school. They can hear these short stories that volunteers have recorded and go to their local library and check out the book. It encourages them to not become stagnant during the summer months when they don’t have the school to keep them going every day.
Amy Myers
