ORGANIZATIONS WE SERVE:
Boys & Girls Clubs Shepards Village Safe Shelter in Savannah Mary’s Place ARC of Tampa Bay Heartworks SOAR
SD Gunner Foundation David Maus Foundation Thomas Promise Foundation Polk County Sheriff Reed Charitable Foundation AND MANY MORE!
Clearwater Marine Aquarium Academy Prep Centers of Education Ronald McDonald House Charities
Operation Healing Forces Parc Center for Disabilities SAFE Tampa Bay New Life Solutions Children’s Dream Fund
Family Promise of Gainesville Johns Hopkins All Children’s
REED CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
accessible, to ensure every child has a teacher who can confidently teach them how to read. In addition to its training programming, RCF also hosts free community education events that promise exceptional content and meaningful fellowship on all types of educational topics, ranging from ADHD and executive functioning skills to struggling reader simulations and assistive technology. Because dyslexia was at the heart of the journey to a solution, every fall RCF hosts a major fundraiser known as the Dyslexia Experience & Gala, which features the stories of inspiring dyslexic children and their particular exceptional strengths. Past headliners have included comedian, Michael Jr., former professional surfer, CJ Hobgood, and this year’s featured guest, Daymond John from Shark Tank. The truth is that reading failure is the upstream cause of almost every societal issue we face, including but not limited to: food and housing insecurity, poverty, mental health issues, incarceration rates, substance abuse and addiction, low employment rates, high healthcare costs, and so much more. But it is also true that this is completely preventable! Today, Jennifer’s son is thriving in school. Three years after his initial dyslexia identification, he was required to be retested (as is standard for children to keep their accommodations, such as extra exam time). While a person never stops being dyslexic, her son no longer tests as dyslexic, because the deficits and struggles that are indicative of students with this learning difference are no longer deficits. Because of all of the incredible foundations, families, businesses and beyond who support RCF, he and so many other children feel empowered, are discovering their strengths and believe that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. Literacy is the key that unlocks hope, creativity, and empowerment, and it is vital that the 95 percent- plus of the population who are cognitively able to learn to read, actually get that chance.
Did you know that Florida ranks 3rd in the country for 4th grade literacy rates but only 39 percent of FL’s 4th graders can read proficiently? We have been in a literacy crisis for decades in this country and REED Charitable Foundation (RCF) is doing something about it. In 2017, RCF’s president and founding director, Jennifer Knopf, learned that her bright and joyful seven-year-old son, Reed was struggling in school because he is dyslexic, and no local school, public or private, was able to help. She also learned that decades of research known as the “science of reading” demonstrated a method which aided almost all students in reading comprehension, including the 1-in-5 children who suffer from dyslexia. However, teachers were not trained in the science or how to implement it in classrooms. It was further complicated by the fact that it was expensive and geographically inaccessible to most educators. While Jen was fortunate to find a certified tutor to help her son, it took months to get an appointment, was extremely expensive, and had to be done after school, which meant her son was no longer able to play sports. Jen realized that something had to be done for all of the families of children who are struggling with the foundational and life-saving skills of literacy. RCF was officially created in December of 2019, with a mission to make best-in-class, structured literacy training, coaching, and classroom materials financially and geographically
Jen Knopf Founding Director
Jen is a wife to husband Andrew and mom to two amazing kids: a daughter, Mackenzie, and a son, Reed (who was diagnosed with dyslexia in January of 2018 at seven years old). Of course, her son Reed’s story of both struggle and strengths is the inspiration for REED Charitable Foundation (RCF) but her heart for RCF goes much deeper than that. Jen’s background as both a litigation and commercial real estate attorney made her uniquely suited for researching and advocating for her own son’s needs; but she quickly learned that their family’s battle to find support for her son is a battle at least 20 percent of the population also faces. Jen also learned that even with personal resources, there is very little legitimate support for dyslexic students, even though we absolutely know how to support them. And, the worse realization of all was the lingering question of, “What happens to all of those families and children with no resources at all?” Jen knew the answer and also knew it was only a matter of time before she joined with others to create a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting not only dyslexic students but literacy for all. With a strong legal background, relentless determination, and a steadfast belief that literacy is a fundamental human right, Jen is committed to the mission and purpose of this foundation named after her beloved son.
35 IDC MAGAZINE
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