Star Of Queens

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 3:15 PM EDT

Dawn Simon
P.S. 206 reading program founder
Elmhurst

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: In fall 2007, Dawn Simon, senior manager for marketing at Elmhurst’s Queens Center Mall, established a reading program for the students of Rego Park’s P.S. 206, on 61-21 97th Place. That happened because of her seven-year involvement with Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning (PENCIL), a city organization that connects business leaders with public schools so that the two parties can create programs that strengthen the schools. In the program, which Simon created, every week mall employees, including Simon herself, volunteer to read to P.S. 206 students - both in the school and at the mall, located on 90-15 Queens Boulevard. The goal of the program is to help students raise their reading scores and encourage them to love reading.

PERSONAL: Simon, who is of Brooklyn and in her 40s, is an avid reader herself. She likes reading everything - from mystery and historical novels to romance and nonfiction. “I can totally get lost in a book. I become the person in the novel,” she explained. “So I pass on the joy of reading to the kids of P.S. 206,” she said.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Simon’s biggest challenge is not having enough time for the reading program because she also volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters, a youth mentoring organization. She just completed a course that allows her to be a mentor.

FAVORITE MEMORY: Simon’s favorite memory as a PENCIL volunteer is from the day when she read to the P.S. 206 students a particularly intriguing story about a little girl whose parents could not take care of her. “Just the looks on the students’ faces, waiting to hear what was next - you can’t describe that,” she said.

INSPIRATION: Seeing the children enjoy the reading and do better in reading at school as a result of the program is what motivates her.

-Yaldaz Sadakova