THE RONALD McDonald House Charities partnered with the local government of Quezon City to strengthen the literacy of Grade 1 learners in public schools in the city.

Through its Ronald McDonald Read to Learn program, RMHC hopes to improve the reading ability of 4,750 children from 95 elementary schools. The program will provide access to appropriate reading materials to children and equip teachers with necessary skills to help teach reading.

It also promotes genuine love for reading, critical thinking skills, grammar and oral language development, which are crucial to a child’s fundamental stage of learning.

“RMHC continues to champion the well-being and happiness of Filipino children through Ronald McDonald Read to Learn. We’re excited to extend this initiative to the public school students in Quezon City to further address their learning needs and supplement the formal basic education curriculum,” Marie Angeles, RMHC’s executive director, said.

“By providing grade school teachers with valuable training that strengthens their instructing competencies, they will be able to further develop the critical thinking skills of learners and help them master reading skills,” Angeles added.

The program is also in partnership with the Department of Education and Adarna House.

To date, the Ronald McDonald Read to Learn program has reached 12.9 million public school children and has partnered with 10,842 schools nationwide.

Aside from the reading program, RMHC and the Quezon City government, led by Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte, also entered a partnership that will benefit QCitizen ID holders.

Under the agreement, QCitizen ID holders are eligible to 5 percent discounts on purchases not lower than P200 on weekends for three months, starting on the celebration of Quezon City Day on August 19.