Pitt nursing student Melissa Connelly had never worked with children before.

She was… Pitt nursing student Melissa Connelly had never worked with children before.

She was worried that, as a future nurse, she would be unable to give comfort to the children in her care.

So she joined Jumpstart, a national non-profit organization that works with children from low-income families.

“I want to be able to help them cope in a hospital setting because that can be the scariest thing for a child,” Connelly said.

Connelly began working with a preschooler twice a week at one of the program’s sites. The little girl didn’t like to read, but she loved to sing. Their special book was “The Little Mermaid,” and when they got to different songs in the book, they’d stop and sing them.

By the end of their year together, the child was waiting for Connelly at the door, excited for their session.

Students like Connelly and her preschooler joined in at Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign yesterday morning at the South Side Works.

A bright balloon archway and foam mats for circle time decorated the area. Eight inner-city preschools attended, some arriving in trolleys.

The program began with the reading of this year’s featured book, “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf. The children gathered around on foam mats, listening to the same story at the same time as other children across the country.

One of Jumpstart’s goals was to have the “largest shared reading experience” in its history, breaking last year’s record of 150,000 readers set last August.

After reading the book, the children were put into groups and did different activities: they made Ferdinand the Bull puppets and flowers in the pasture he liked to smell, took a picture with a matador and had snack time.

The Read for the Record campaign was even featured on the “Today Show” with hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira.

Jumpstart hopes that events like yesterday’s will increase awareness of what its program is all about.

Jumpstart president James Cleveland said that the learning gap between children starts early on.

“When children begin behind their peers, catching up, especially without additional assistance, is difficult and unlikely. Children who miss out on key cognitive, social and emotional experiences are more apt to repeat grades, drop out of school and even engage in criminal activity,” Cleveland said.

Jumpstart works to close that gap by working with the children one-on-one twice a week for two hours. College students are trained before they are sent out to the different schools in the city, but the format of the program is fairly open-ended.

If a child has special needs, the member adapts to teach in a way the child learns best. A teacher at Faison Elementary in Homewood said, “My class was one of the first in the program. And I’d have them back every year. The transition work they do with the kids from preschool to kindergarten is fantastic.”

Jumpstart at Pitt has approximately 125 members. Other Pitt students wishing to get involved can apply online at www.jstart.org. Jumpstart’s office is located in room 917 of the William Pitt Union. It is considered a work-study or stipend job.

At the completion of the yearlong program, there is a $1000 education award.