Christine Russell says she’s always been an advocate for children and reading. A former elementary reading teacher, it’s no surprise she found a home with Everybody Wins! Iowa as a program manager and then site coordinator. “I really enjoy the opportunity to see children and their excitement when they get into books,” she says, noting that data show reading to children is beneficial to improving reading scores and comprehension. But she also takes great pleasure in working with the schools: “I see a lot of enthusiasm and good things happening in our schools, and one of the strengths of our program is bringing volunteers into the schools so members of the community can see that they’re doing a great job.” Christine has been on the EWI staff since 2014 and currently coordinates Power Read at Northwest and Southeast elementary schools in Ankeny.