Today, Kayla Moberly and Traveling Stories has impacted more than 7,000 kids who are now coming back to serve as mentors for the next generation of readers.

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The power of picking up a book and enjoying the story inside is something very special for Traveling Stories.

Since the nonprofit started almost 14 years ago, they’ve helped 7,000 kids in San Diego improve their reading.

The program targets low-income students to empower them to reach their dreams.

“We really believe and the research shows that if children can read by fourth grade, they are so much more likely to finish high school, to be gainfully employed, and to engage in their community. It’s like one of the biggest predictors of future success," she said.

Emily Moberly is the founder of Traveling Stories.

She said the idea for the program sparked more than 2,200 miles away from San Diego.

“I started this program back in 2010. I had just come back from Honduras where I was a teacher and I had students in high school who had never read for fun. They had only ever read textbooks. As a book nerd myself, I felt that was kind of sad," said Moberly.