The Oklahoma Eagle Newswire
Gateway Mortgage Group, a full-service mortgage company founded by Kevin Stitt, is teaming up with literacy nonprofit Reading Partners to provide tutoring for children across Tulsa. Each Gateway tutor will help more students develop the foundational reading skills needed to empower their learning in all other subjects in school.
Gateway employees were given the opportunity to sign up at a recent company event with Reading Partners’ staff. They will spend one hour a week with students at Clinton West Elementary to improve basic reading skills.
“Gateway is passionate about strengthening families,” said Michelle Choquette , chief human resources officer at Gateway. “By allowing our employees to tutor one hour a week for Reading Partners, we can make a difference in our community. We are committed to helping children learn to read and succeed in life.”
Reading Partners has positively impacted students’ reading scores since arriving in Tulsa in 2013. The one-on-one tutoring empowers students to succeed in reading by providing individualized attention to each student in the program.
“Today, only one in four Oklahoma fourth-graders is reading at a proficient level and 36 percent lack basic literacy skills,” said Justin Harlan, executive director for Reading Partners. “We are thankful for companies like Gateway that encourage their employees to be involved in communities, especially helping children learn to read. By partnering with parents, teachers, public schools and community leaders in Tulsa, Reading Partners is set to address Tulsa’s significant achievement gap.”
The volunteer efforts are part of the company’s “Gateway Gives Back”program, which will reinvest $275 million and thousands of volunteer hours in communities throughout Oklahoma over the next five years. The program will also provide mortgage financing in low-to-moderate-income communities.
“So many children are struggling to read at grade level,” said Beth Delancy, project manager at Gateway and Reading Partners tutor. “I want to do my part by volunteering for Reading Partners to help these children. I am proud to work for a company that allows us to donate our time and resources to help these children and support such a great organization and cause in our community.”
In the 2018-19 school year, Reading Partners aims to match 2,000 community volunteers with 1,600 struggling readers in Tulsa.
About Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC.
Gateway, founded by Kevin Stitt, is one of the largest privately held mortgage origination and servicing companies in the United States. Established in 2000 and headquartered in Jenks, Oklahoma, the company employs more than 1,200 team members in over 160 offices nationwide and currently services $17 billion in residential mortgages. For more information about Gateway, visit www.GatewayLoan.com. Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC (NMLS 7233).
