The REAL Program

☀️ Learning doesn’t need to pause when school is out!

Summer learning makes a massive difference in preventing the summer slide and setting students up for success in the fall. 📚✨ Let’s keep our community's kids reading and growing all season long.

The dads, stepdads, and father figures who show up — this one's for you. 💙 Every time you open a book with a child, you're building something that lasts a lifetime. Happy Father's Day from The REAL Program family.

On Juneteenth, we remember that the freedom to read, to learn, and to tell your own story was never given freely — it was fought for. It's why we do this work every day. 🕯️

When a community supports a child’s learning, the impact reaches far beyond the classroom.

The REAL Program provides literacy-centered programs and resources that help families build brighter futures together.

Join us in supporting the journey.

Almost all of May. 💛

From Children’s Book Week to Sherlock Holmes Day, from comic books to limericks — this month has already reminded us that literacy shows up in a thousand different forms.

And so does this community.

Thank you to our Community Leader Readers for reading along, our REAL Sustainers for championing a City of Readers, and all of those who are creating brighter futures by showing up in all of the ways that you do.

With one more day left in May and June right around the corner, we’re grateful for all of you supporting us as we build even more special moments.

Stay tuned. ☀️

It's Sherlock Holmes Day! 🔍

Reading builds the skills every great detective needs, curiosity.

Sound familiar? That's exactly what our REALSTREAM program develops all Summer long.

A good book. A caring reader. And a little dog named Trouble keeping watch from the table 📖

We were thrilled to have Community Leader Reader Sheila Duncan bring storytime to life for our Starting Small preschoolers. Trouble the Dog — a character born when a 12-year-old girl named Kendra saw kids who needed comfort and said, "I have to help" — has traveled the world reaching children of all ages. Now he's right here in Lynn, sitting in on storytime at The REAL Program.

Every read-aloud moment like this one builds vocabulary, confidence, and a love of learning that lasts a lifetime.

Thank you, Sheila, for sharing Trouble's story with ours.

Look, the food world has Taco Tuesdays. College kids have their thing on Thursdays, and we didn't get to pick so we're officially claiming Wonderful Wednesdays — and we're kicking it off with some exciting news - Set Sail for Literacy is officially open for Sponsors! 🚢

Already we have 15 seats for Set Sail for Literacy are already spoken for. That's 15 people who said "a sunset cruise on Salem Harbor for literacy? Say no more." We haven't even started trying yet.

115 seats left. 130 max. The boat is the boat — it doesn't get bigger because you waited.
🎟️ $100 General Admission
🎟️ $50 for REAL Sustainers ($25/month and up — yes, your monthly support now pays you back too!)
🏆 Sponsorships start at $250 and go up to $5,000

Sign up here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/set-sail-for-literacy

And for our local businesses and organizations — we're building the boat and the crowd is already showing up. If you want your name in front of a community that shows up for literacy and enjoys a good sunset, our sponsorship tiers start at just $250. Reach, visibility, and impact — all in one evening. DM us or hit the link in bio for our sponsorship packet.

So here's the short end of it:
July 11. The Hannah Glover. Boston Harbor. Charcuterie. A cash bar. And the knowledge that you're helping kids in Lynn read, learn, and grow.
Don't be the person texting us on July 10 asking if there's room. There might not be :)

Summer learning loss is real — but it doesn't have to be. ☀️ REALSTREAM 2026 keeps kids engaged, inspired, and growing all summer long through hands-on STREAM learning. Field trips. Mentorship. Science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and math — all in one program. Registration details dropping soon. Follow us so you don't miss it.