The Official Newsletter of Read to a Child
Fall 2020
Giving Thanks: A Note from our Board Chair, Peter Necheles
This is the time of the year that we look back and reflect about the many things we have to be grateful for. This year is a year unlike any we have seen before, a year that has brought so much hardship to our communities, friends, families, schools, local businesses and organizations. However, in a time of such uncertainty and instability for so many, we are grateful to the Read to a Child community that continues to serve our mission and reach our students - who need us now more than ever! Thank you to our school partner administrators and teachers, who continue to value our partnership in an evolving virtual landscape. Thank you to our corporate partners, donors, and board members, who provide invaluable resources to sustain our organization. Thank you to our volunteer reading mentors, who are the backbone of our organization. Most importantly, thank you to our students and their families for their belief in our Read Aloud Mentoring Program and for developing a love of reading alongside us. We couldn't do it without you!
Join Us as Read to a Child Presents: TOGETHER IS BETTER
On Thursday, November 19th, we are gathering from the comfort of our homes for a virtual evening of inspiring words, touching stories, and exciting opportunities to give back to Read to a Child and raise much needed funding for our Read Aloud Mentoring Program across the country. The students we serve need literacy support and the benefits of one-on-one mentorship now more than ever as schools continue to grapple with the effects of COVID-19 on education and learning environments.
Register in Advance!

You must register ahead of time to secure your spot for the event. Registering is easy! Just click the button below to visit our event website, where everything you need is all on one screen - registration, donation options, silent auction, our honorees and generous sponsors. Did I mention, you don't have to leave your couch? We can't wait to 'see' you on November 19th!
Eva Davis, Greater Los Angeles Board Chair and
Legacy Award honoree with her reading buddy
Browse our Silent Auction!
You don't have to wait until event night to start checking out our silent auction. Items are ready to browse now and new items are constantly being added! All you have to do is go to our event website and click the 'silent auction' tab and browse everything from luxurious getaways from coast to coast, Hollywood and sports memorabilia, virtual experiences, fine art, the latest trends in health and wellness, and something fun for the whole family! Celebrate Family Literacy Month in November with our Family Book Club package that includes a year-long membership to Book of the Month and two Owl Crate Jr. boxes for the kids to enjoy - everything you need for your next bedtime read aloud. Auction will open prior to the event - stay tuned for more details!
Greater LA Begins its 2020 Read Aloud Mentoring Program
The Greater Los Angeles Region was excited to launch the first fully virtual Read Aloud Mentoring Program with one-on-one mentoring sessions at one of our partner schools in Greater Los Angeles, with more launching this November! All regions across the country will soon be following suit and are currently hard at work with school partners to ensure our virtual program launch is a success. Interested in learning more about the Read Aloud Mentoring Program (formerly Lunchtime Reading Program)? Click here to learn more.
Two Heartwarming Donor Stories
Our generous partners at Dell recently donated 30 Latitude laptops to our Read Aloud Mentoring Program. These laptops are intended to equip our Program Coordinators with the power to manage the virtual components of the Read Aloud Mentoring Program by facilitating one-on-one virtual read aloud sessions for thousands of elementary school children and their reading mentors. Thank you Dell for helping us go virtual with our flagship program!
Earlier this summer, we were lucky enough to hear bestselling author of Magic Tree House series, Mary Pope Osborne, read aloud from her latest release, Late Lunch with Llamas. Thanks to her Classroom Adventures and Gift of Books Program, students in Grades 1-4 in three of our Greater Hartford partner schools and students in six high-need schools in the Hartford Public School district will receive a Magic Tree House book and its corresponding nonfiction companion guide. That's approximately 2,400 books for the students of Greater Hartford and the largest in-kind book donation ever facilitated by Read to a Child! Click here to read more about this generous gift and access Mary Pope Osborne's Remote Read Aloud.
National Read to a Child Day 2020
On Tuesday, October 20th, Read to a Child celebrated our second annual National Read to a Child Day! We were so excited to spend the day virtually celebrating and raising awareness about the power of the read aloud experience. We had special story time opportunities with an award winning author and illustrator and our student volunteers at Bryant University. We partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation for a story time with our CEO, Paul Lamoureux, who read Malcolm Mitchell's children's book, The Magician's Hat, thanks to Malcolm and his Share the Magic Foundation. Thank you to all our fantastic partners and supporters for helping us celebrate National Read to a Child Day virtually this year and we can't wait to celebrate with you next year!
Students at Castle Hill Academy in Medfield, MA enjoying a virtual story time on Read to a Child Day from our Bryant University student volunteers. Check out the video on our Facebook page linked here.
Give the Gift of Reading this Holiday Season
Please consider Read to a Child as you plan for your year-end giving. Read to a Child is a 501c3 organization and your contribution is fully tax deductible. See if your employer can match your donation here. We are 100% donor supported!
Support Read to a Child While You Shop for the Holidays!
When you shop through Amazon Smile, Amazon donates .5% of the cost of your purchase to Read to a Child. Click the link here to shop and make sure to choose Read to a Child as your charity of choice.
Thank You to our Board Members
A Note of Gratitude to Mark Tarini

Mark has served on the National Board of Directors for the last five years, serving four years as Chairman before stepping down in September. He will remain a member of our Greater Boston Regional Board and continue to be one of our largest supporters. Mark has been a volunteer reading mentor for over ten years, mentoring Christian, Hilary and Joan at Roxbury's Tobin School in our Greater Boston Region. Thank you for your years of service Mark!
A Warm Welcome to our Newest Board Members!
Our Greater Miami Region is excited to welcome two new members to its regional board. Natasha Marvin joins the board as Managing Director and Founder of the NCM Foundation. Natasha's dedication to youth is evident from her work engaging older students in service projects in Miami and beyond through her foundation. Ingrid Fernandez joins the board after recently moving back to Miami to be close to family. She is enthusiastic about supporting our mission in her new role. Welcome to our Greater Miami board members - we are lucky to have you both!
Greater Los Angeles is thrilled to have Jane Lee Cole join its regional board. Jane is an attorney and philanthropist, with a background in regulatory practice and energy law. She is passionate about improving diversity in the legal community and was nominated by SCE Law Department in 2013 as a Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. We are so grateful to have Jane's leadership and vision on our Greater Los Angeles Regional Board.
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