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Dear Friends of Reading to Kids,
Last Saturday we held our third largest Zoom reading clubs ever! 325 kids, 74 volunteers, and 27 teachers &
staff
joined us for our October 9th "Halloween, Magic, & Monsters" reading clubs!
Collage of Kindergarten through 5th grade Halloween crafts on Zoom
(click on the above image to see it full size)
Esperanza Elementary had 101 participating kids, 17% of their student body, and Gratts Elementary had 80 participating kids, 22% of their student body!
Evan Cray is a member of the
Westside Wizards who has performed for us with his dad at our October reading clubs since he was in middle school. To continue our tradition of providing magic every October, Evan recorded on YouTube a 9-minute magic performance our volunteers shared with the kids that morning!
Evan incorporated books and reading into his act, and afterwards a 3rd grader told his volunteers that he wants to be a magician now! You can share Evan's show with anyone who enjoys magic!
Based on continuing LAUSD COVID-19 protocols, we'll continue to remain Zoom-only until we hear otherwise from our partner schools.
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ANNUAL FUND DRIVE LAUNCH
& CURRENT LEADERS -
DOUBLE YOUR DONATION FOR YOUR SCHOOL!
We extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped us kick off our
2021 Annual Fund Drive, including 22 volunteers this past Saturday who
together donated $1,805!
The names of the new donors have already been added to our
2021 Annual Fund Drive page, and here are the school competition stats so far:
SCHOOL COMPETITION LEADERS!
Highest percentage of volunteers who donated at the Oct. 9th reading clubs: 1st: Esperanza with an incredible 64%!
2nd: Politi (60%!)
3rd: Los Angeles (50%!)
Highest dollar amount raised at the Oct. 9th reading clubs: 1st: Esperanza ($1,095!)
2nd: White ($275)
3rd: Politi ($150)
All of these donations will be doubled by the below matching donors at every school, and their offers still stand! That's right, anyone can double your donation and change the above standings by donating this week! Just donate via our Annual Fund Drive page and indicate your school in the notes or comments field of your donation!
Alta Loma: Jordan Neysmith matching up to $1,000 combined donations
Esperanza: Jill Durkin matching up to $1,500 combined donations
Gratts: Bernice Hernandez matching up to $1,000 combined donations
Los Angeles: Sean Morris matching up to $250 combined donations
MacArthur Park: Mary Abdo matching up to $500 combined donations
Magnolia: An anonymous donor matching up to $1,000 combined donations
Politi: An anonymous donor matching up to $250 combined donations
White: Robyn Chew matching up to $1,000 combined donations
Help us reach the above matches by donating today!
Our overall goal by the end of the year is to raise $60,000 from
600 donors.
Here's
how you can help, with your donations being counted towards the
school competition:
1) Make a pledge to donate by check or donate online
today by visiting our
2021 Annual Fund Drive. Contributions of any amount are
greatly appreciated!
2) Show your support by asking friends and family to
contribute!
Visit our
2021 Annual Fund Drive
page and look under the "Help us Fundraise!"
header for resources, including information on creating your own
personalized fundraising page on Facebook, our handy
donor sheet for raising money with your friends and
co-workers,
tips for fundraising, and so much more.
Once they know about Reading to Kids, many of your
friends and family will want to donate -
we just need you to ask!
Also, if your workplace matches donations to nonprofits, please share
with them your donation, and ask them to consider matching it. In this way you double your donation and share with others your enthusiasm
for Reading to Kids!
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NINE MILESTONE READERS!
Virtual reading clubs count towards our milestones just as much as our face-to-face reading clubs!
Though we couldn't provide printed milestone certificates to them, we honored these nine volunteers by sharing their milestone certificates at their schools' Site Coordinator debrief sessions after the clubs!
• Alexandra Lemosle & Site Coordinator Alexea Howard (20 reading clubs each)
• White Elem. Site Coordinator Jessica Dunning (30 reading clubs)
• Mac. Park Elem. Site Coordinator Tina Sanderson (40 reading clubs)
• Mona Javdan (50 reading clubs)
Pictured below are the certificates for our four largest milestones:
• Gloria Greengard (70 reading clubs!)
• Stan Thompson (80 reading clubs!)
• Alta Loma Site Coordinator Mariel Rubio (150 reading clubs!)
• Gratts Site Coordinator (and designer of our Annual Fund Drive postcard) Kori Wilson (180 reading clubs!)
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NOVEMBER 13TH READING CLUBS ON ZOOM,
RSVPS TO OPEN IN A WEEK OR TWO
We are eager for next month's virtual summer reading clubs on November 13th, but first need to recruit enough teachers to be Zoom hosts for them.
As soon as we confirm enough teacher hosts, we
will then email how you can
submit your RSVP for those "Seasons &
the Natural World" reading
clubs! Or, just keep checking our website!
(We are also in regular communication with the principals about when we may be able to return to in-person reading clubs on their campuses.)
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SUPPORT OUR
2021 MARATHON RUNNERS
HELP US HAND OUT WATER DURING THE RACE!
Help represent Reading to Kids during the Los Angeles Marathon on November 7th by handing out water to the runners!
Our group will be at Water Station Mile 5 at Glendale Blvd., between Bellevue and Kent St. in Echo Park, on Sunday, November 7th from 5am - 11am.
Click this link to sign up. Our group is
Reading to Kids and our shift location should be
listed in green. Click the box to the green J05 Water Station Mile 5 shift, complete the form, and sign up to volunteer!
If you can't join us at the above, then donate your support!
Our 2021 runners have until November 7th to reach their $10,000 fundraising goal! If you can donate a buck a mile to your favorite runner, you'll help fuel them towards the finish line!
With every mile they train and every dollar they raise, these valiant souls help you inspire kids with a love of reading.
NINE RUNNERS NEEDED FOR THE
2022 LA MARATHON,
13.1 MILE CHARITY CHALLENGE,
OR 5K!
Do you know any runners? Are you a
runner? Please forward this email to them
and ask them to join
Team Reading to Kids in the 2022 Los
Angeles Marathon on Sunday,
March 20th!
We're looking for at least three more marathon runners and six Charity Challenge runners (the last 13.1 miles of the course) to join us in one of the best marathons in the country.
If either of those distances is too daunting, you can join us in the LA Big 5K (that's just 3.1 miles) near Dodger Stadium the day before the marathon on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
You can
share this Facebook group with any of your runner
friends to encourage them to join our team!
If you or a runner you know is interested in
becoming one of our fundraising runners or
creating a fundraising team, please email
Chris Martin at
marathon@readingtokids.org!
IMPORTANT NOTE: To register to run
on behalf of Reading to Kids, you
MUST receive from us a special web address
to use when registering on the Los Angeles Marathon website.
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VIRTUAL LEGENDARY BINGO & COSTUME PARTY
FRI. OCTOBER 29TH AT 7:30 PM:
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW
& HELP FIND MORE PRIZES!
It's back! On Friday, October 29th, join Reading to Kids
for
Virtual Legendary Bingo on Zoom!
Click their link above to see a video on their website of how it works. Virtual bingo lasts about an hour, and just like our past bingo events at Hamburger Mary's, virtual drag queen bingo is "R" rated - so put the kids in another room with a good book while you play and win!
Tickets to play four games of virtual bingo are just $25, with only 60 tickets available - so
click this link to buy your ticket today!
We'll also have a virtual costume party competition for those who choose to wear a costume, as well as exciting auction items to bid on, such as valuable and hard-to-find Disneyland/California Adventure One-Day Park Hopper tickets - with all proceeds benefiting Reading to Kids.
To help recruit players, please also visit our October 29th Bingo event on Facebook and invite your friends!
HELP FIND MORE BINGO PRIZES!
You can also help us gather more prizes for the bingo winners! Since this is virtual bingo, we are looking for items we can mail or send via email, such as $25 or $50 gift cards.
We also enjoy awarding gift certificates, gift bags, and autographed items! Anything unique is great, too!
To help you get started, here is information about Reading to Kids you can share with potential donors (such as where you work or shop), as well as a donation form for them to download and fill out.
If you work at or have a connection with products or
services to offer, please help us by asking for a donation
to our events.
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Thanks, and we hope you can join us in any or all of the above!
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Sincerely,
Charlie Orchard & Talethe Collins
Reading to Kids
1600 Sawtelle Blvd, Suite 210
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-7455
(310) 479-7435 (FAX)
info@readingtokids.org
www.readingtokids.org
www.facebook.com/readingtokids
www.twitter.com/readingtokids
www.readingtokids.blogspot.com
Make a donation:
www.readingtokids.org/HowToHelp/HelpDonate.php
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