Winter 2013

Open up a child's world through reading

Read to a Child is proud to be able to share what we have been doing over the past few months with volunteers and donors like you. We especially want to communicate the impact our work is having on children. Here is a story of one little girl who showed us how meaningful the program is to her:

"As we were collecting the students from the cafeteria to meet their mentors (many of whom have been reading to them for the past 3 years) one student in particular had the cutest reaction. When she realized the lunchtime reading program was beginning she put her hands on her cheeks and said, 'I have been waiting my whole life for this!' She then ran to the front door and excitedly gave her a huge hug!" - Colleen Schenker, Boston Program Manager

Stories like this are why we do what we do and we are thankful to have so many wonderful volunteers and donors helping us to achieve similar results all over the country!

Read to a Child Across the Country

What Read to a Child Volunteers and Donors Were Able to Accomplish This Year

During the 2012-13 school year, we were thrilled to provide over 30,000 hours of one-on-one reading for children across the country. We reached over a thousand children weekly and are pleased to run the program in 30 schools nationally.

Read to a Child Looks to the Future

1 . Harvard Business School Alumni Strategic Planning Project: After a rigorous selection process, Read to a Child is one of 15 organizations chosen from 45 nonprofits applicants to benefit from a year-long project led by six HBS alumni who conduct pro bono projects with nonprofits as part of Community Action Partners (CAP).

2. Online Reading Volunteer Training Course: Read to a Child
received a $75,000 grant from the Cisco Foundation to support development of an online training course for new volunteers. We have been working closely with the technical team to develop

this resource, and anticipate conducting a pilot this school year. The course will not always replace in-person training, but will increase staff capacity and ensure preparation for volunteers who are unavailable for in-person training.

In This Issue

Read to a Child National News

Quick Links

Learn More About Our Locations

Stay Connected

Boston Celebrates its 11th Annual Gala!

Read to a Child's Boston office hosted a Hidden Treasure Gala

on November 14th at the fabulous Omni Parker Hotel. The room was filled with people showing their support for the Read to a Child mission and helped to raise $70,000!

The night was a flurry of activity swirling around silent and live auctions, moving speeches, and even a fun photo booth.

Boston staff members celebrated a successful event by jumping into the photo booth themselves!

Making a Difference in Los Angeles

Juan Cabrillo elementary school principal, Margaret Lynch, sent a note to two reading volunteers from Ignited in Los Angeles. The note read:

"Just wanted to let you know your attention reading weekly with Louis is making a difference for him: He's being recognized at our Student Success assembly tomorrow for his improved attitude and effort at school!"

Read to a Child in Los Angeles also welcomes two new corporate reading partners: DirecTV with 33 volunteers reading at Juan Cabrillo elementary school, and the Los Angeles Times with 11 volunteers reading at 10th Street elementary school.

Los Angeles for Literacy 9th Annual Benefit

The 9th Annual Adult Spelling Bee raised over $30,000 to support Read to a Child Los Angeles. The event was held July 11th at the renowned Conga Room @ L.A. Live and featured professionals from many of our Los Angeles area corporate partners. It was a lively evening of competitive fun that featured seven spelling bee teams cheered on by friends and supporters.

Congratulations once again to the winning team, and defending champions, from Seyfarth Shaw LLP!

Read to a Child in Action in Connecticut

Read to a Child is having a great start this year in Connecticut. So far over 30 new volunteers have been trained from corporate partner Travelers, who will join the 24 mentor-student pairs already reading at Hartford's Betances Elementary School.

Check out this picture of a student and his volunteer Joe, from Allied World Assurance, reading together for the second year in a row at Lincoln Elementary School in New Britain, CT. Their favorite topics to read about include sharks and the ocean.

What's New in Detroit

We're thrilled to welcome 23 new volunteers from DMC - Harper Hospital starting to read at Detroit's Loving Academy this week! They join over 30 volunteers from Aegis Media and eight from Doodle Home, providing weekly reading sessions for 60 children!

Here is a picture of a child at Loving Academy bonding with his new reading mentors!

Keeping Up With South Florida

An employee of Assurant Solutions, a South Florida corporate partner, said this about the Read to a Child lunchtime reading program:

"I volunteer with a number of community service groups but Read to a Child is unique because it provides a personal relationship between the reader and student. The process of selecting the book, reading it aloud, and discussing the outcomes makes for a very enjoyable experience for both of us. Way cool!

Thanks to Read to a Child for the great opportunity, and thanks to Assurant for their support!" - Ed Jones, Change Manager

Read to a Child | 781-489-5910 | [email protected] | www.readtoachild.org

20 William Street, G25, Wellesley, MA 02481