MARI Kits

who struggle with dyslexia—a challenge I understand personally, having been diagnosed in the 2nd grade. I'm continuing my efforts and now working towards my Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts, by partnering with The DePaul School for Dyslexia. For my Gold Award project, I aim to help identify children with dyslexia through early screening so that they can receive the support and accommodations they need in school as soon as possible. Along with this, I will be educating parents of preschool children. It's crucial that parents are well-informed and have access to resources early on. Even though screening cannot be conducted until the child is 5, understanding the importance of early education and having the right resources can make a significant difference in a child's academic journey. I don’t want any parent to feel lost, so providing them with information and education early is essential to my project. Thank you for joining me on this journey to make a difference for children with learning differences!

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My name is Mariana. For my Silver Award Project, the second-highest award in Girl Scouts, I'm going to be helping children who are having problems with their dyslexia and providing them with some helpful tools recommended by experts to use as they learn to overcome it. stands for "Making Awesome Reading Improvement". Thanks to all my generous Sponsors - Columbia Restaurants Group, Julie Weintraub's Hands Across the Bay, Rice Psychology Group, TLC Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, and Target. These kits will be given to United Way Suncoast to have available to children (Kindergarten through Third Grade) that attend their reading rooms or resource centers in the future that have dyslexia and are struggling to read. Dyslexia hits close to home and I am very passionate about it because I was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2nd grade and know firsthand how difficult it is to have learning problems associated with dyslexia. For me, my parents were very diligent in seeking input from experts in this area and searching out tools that would help me not only cope with my dyslexia but also thrive as I continued to learn instead of continuing to struggle. I know how lucky I am to have had access to these simple tools and I want to give that opportunity to other young learners who may be having some of the same challenges that I had. In these kits, are tools that helped me deal with my dyslexia and will hopefully help them deal with theirs too. I know having dyslexia can be very hard especially for children that are just learning how to read. My plan is to help those children so that reading can be so much easier and that they can learn to love reading!!