'America Reads' Is Taking Hold at Grassroots

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

Philadelphia

Muriel Krell took it as a personal challenge. When she heard President Clinton's television address promoting his initiative to enlist an army of volunteers to help children learn to read, she knew she could contribute.

The "America Reads Challenge," the plan Mr. Clinton formally unveiled in his State of the Union Address last year, would tap a million college students, retirees, and others to help all the country's children read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.

"I have been very involved in community services," said Ms. Krell, a Glen Rock, N.J., resident who promotes community-service projects through her local chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. "I thought I should start something...