The Roanoke Bar Association and Roanoke City Public Schools has launched its annual Barrister Book Buddies program, designed to encourage reading among elementary school students. All teacher requests for buddies have been filled by the RBA. Thirty-five lawyers and judges have volunteered to read in classrooms at Garden City, Lincoln Terrace, Morningside and Preston Park.

Here is the press release from the Roanoke Bar Association.

The Roanoke Bar Association (RBA), in conjunction with Roanoke City Public Schools, has launched the 13th annual Barrister Book Buddies (BBB) program. Implemented in 1998, BBB is the longest-running RBA community service program and was designed to help the school system encourage reading among elementary school students. Buddies commit to read at least one (1) hour per month during the entire school year. For the 2012-2013 school year, the RBA has filled every teacher request for a Buddy, with 35 lawyers and judges volunteering to read in 33 classrooms at Garden City, Lincoln Terrace, Morningside, and Preston Park.

The Conference of Local Bars, a division of the Virginia State Bar, has presented the RBA with two Awards of Merit for the Barrister Book Buddies program.