BUILD (Berkeley United in Literacy Development)

BUILD (Berkeley United in Literacy Development) offers one-to-one literacy support through after-school tutoring and mentoring sessions. Each mentor works with the same children in 30–35 minute after-school sessions for at least one semester, and the program runs in the fall, spring, and summer. Mentors take part in orientation, trainings, and weekly meetings with their mentor team as part of the program structure.

• Ages: 5–11 years old
• Schedule: After-school sessions twice a week; each session lasts 30–35 minutes, with a total time commitment of 4–6 hours per week for the entire semester

BUILD is a program of the UC Berkeley Public Service Center, whose mission is to bring together students, faculty, and communities to harness their collective wisdom in support of social justice, civic engagement, and transformative social change. It is one of the largest reading programs in the East Bay, with 215 UC Berkeley student mentors providing one-to-one literacy support to 850 youth, and each mentor is matched with three children. BUILD is supported by the City of Berkeley’s Youth Services, partners with the Berkeley Unified School District on Berkeley’s 2020 Vision, is a member of the Oakland Literacy Coalition, and is a supporter of Oakland Reads. The program serves K–5th reading youth and is led by BUILD Directors for 2025–2026. All mentors attend an orientation, three trainings per semester, and weekly meetings with their mentor team, and mentor applications have a rolling deadline until positions are filled, with interviews scheduled over Zoom beginning July 6, 2026. Participants in the mentor role can receive Work-Study, fieldwork units, or volunteer hours.

Last updated August 10, 2026.