Meet The Nonprofit: Sinkinson Dyslexia Foundation

Written by Jamie McAllister

When you pick up a copy of By the Bay: East Beach Stories and By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories, you are getting more than two amazing beach reads. You are also helping to support grassroots organizations doing amazing things for people in Hampton Roads. 

A portion of the proceeds from both By the Bay anthologies are donated to nonprofits dedicated to literacy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. The anthology authors are proud to support groups that go above and beyond to encourage and promote reading in the communities they call home.

One of the nonprofit groups our anthologies support is Sinkinson Dyslexia Foundation. Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, SDF is a 501(c)3 that trains volunteers in Orton-Gillingham, an approach used to teach children and adults with dyslexia how to read. Tutoring is offered free of charge to individuals living in low to low-middle income households. The group offers up to 100 hours of free one-on-one tutoring with a volunteer. Many students work with their tutor for more than a year.  

Since 2014, Sinkinson Dyslexia Foundation has 

* received 152 applications for free reading tutoring

* tested the reading levels of 70 students and

* matched 62 students with a tutor

Eighty-six volunteers have received specialized training from SDF, and the group proudly reports that 12 students have fully graduated. (To graduate, participants must meet or exceed average reading scores for their age or grade level.)

All of the By the Bay authors are proud to support Sinkinson in their efforts to bring the joy of reading to those with dyslexia.

To learn more about Sinkinson Dyslexia Foundation, visit their website at www.sinkinsondyslexiafoundation.org. Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sinkinsondyslexiafoundation.

About the author: Jamie McAllister is the author of “The Mermaid” in the anthology By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories, published in 2017. She is a freelance writer in Virginia Beach. For more information about Jamie and her work, please visit her website.