Family Services of Central Massachusetts would like to express our immense gratitude to the United Way of South Central MA for the recent grant of $20,000 for the Summer Literacy Initiative (SLI). The SLI in Southern Worcester County will include children from the towns of Webster, Dudley, and Southbridge. Studies show that children who fail to attain reading proficiency by third grade are at risk of academic failure and dropping out of high school. SLI seeks to prevent summer learning loss in at-risk youth by targeting reading and writing skills in children completing kindergarten through 4^th grade, with the long-term goal of successful high school graduation for the students who participate.