Inside the Hayhurst Elementary School library, children are arriving. They do not rush into the room. Instead, a line forms as each child is stopped in the doorway by an adult whose job it is to ferry them to their person.

"Who has Poppy?"

"Who has Cash?"

"Who has Amir?"

Here in the library, everyone has someone.

First-grader Felix Eck's person is retired teacher Jan Baum. Baum is one of more than 5,000 volunteers with the nonprofit Start Making A Reader Today, known as SMART. The scene playing out at Hayhurst on the dewy fall morning after Halloween is one that happens in schools across Oregon from October to May. There are 11,000 children in the SMART program this year.

SMART dates back to 1991, when business leaders became concerned about how many Oregon children were reading below grade level and wanted to take action. The program got off the ground in 1992. Back then, SMART served 585 children. Today it has a budget of $3.8 million, 32 full-time employees across the state and six part-time employees. Funding comes primarily from individual, corporate and foundation gifts.

The SMART setup goes like this: Twice a week adults and children take turns reading aloud to each other for 30 minutes.

This particular autumn day at Hayhurst Elementary is special. It's a book giveaway day. A key part of the program is that children who participate get to choose a book to take home twice a month. Felix, like each of the children, is allowed to choose a handful of books to read aloud for the day's reading session. At the end, he will pick one of the books to add to his growing personal library. Felix plops down with copies of "Not Norman: A Goldfish Story," "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons," and a graphic novel version of the classic Boxcar Children series.

"This is like a mystery!" Baum says as she and Felix make their way through the Boxcar Children selection.

"Can't you remember?" Felix says with a laugh. He closes the book and points to the title and reads it aloud. "Mike's Mystery!"

Baum laughs now, too.

"Thank you for reminding me," she says.

It's early on in the program, so the pair are still building the rapport that those in charge at SMART say is a foundational component of the program. The volunteers meet with the same children from October to May. That consistency is critical.

"What we want for our kids is to form a relationship with that person who is there for them every week," says SMART Executive Director Chris Otis. "The really powerful message is, 'You matter to me and I'm interested in the books you want to read and how this story excites you and this time is for you and only for you.'"

The focus is on early readers, like Felix, because pre-kindergarten through third grade is when children are learning to read, Otis said.

Children get into SMART because a teacher has identified them as someone who would benefit from the program. There are many reasons SMART might be a good fit for a student. The student could lack access to books at home, need help with reading, be someone who would benefit from a strong relationship with an adult figure or just be a child who is not served by other school programs.

SMART does surveys to better understand the program's impact. More than 95 percent of teachers surveyed reported noticing improvement in literacy development.

"How about I read a page then you read a page?" Felix asks.

"Perfect," Baum says.

Soon, time is up and Felix must pick the book he'd like to add to his library. He selects the modernized Boxcar Children and Baum helps him place a sticker with his name inside the cover, to signify it is part of his new home library.

Unknown to Felix is the fact that a lot of planning went into the options he had. SMART has a stated commitment to a thoughtful selection of books that will be diverse, inclusive and highly engaging. He plucked the Boxcar Children book from dozens of books that included fiction and nonfiction. Some books were bilingual. Some books were picked because they are what SMART calls "mirror books," because they allow readers to see their own lives reflected in a story. Others were in the pile because they are "window books," which give young readers access to lives unlike their own.

Since SMART's inception, program officials estimate they have given children 2.5 million books.

"There is no greater gift that you can give someone than the opportunity to read," Otis said. "We know the gift of reading is a gift for life."

What your donation can do

$20: Buys one book a month for one student in the SMART program.

$40: Buys two books a month for one student in the SMART program.

$80: Buys book packs for two children, which amounts to 14 books for each child to take home and keep.

How to donate

Send checks to:

Season of Sharing

Oregonians Credit Union

336 N.E. 20th Ave.

Portland, OR 97232