Greetings!

The end of a school year is always a bittersweet time for Everybody Wins DC . It’s when we close the books on another year of shared reading, celebrate with end-of-year parties, and send our students off for the summer. This year things are a bit different. Our students and mentors had their time together cut short as we all transitioned to learning and working from home. And while we have continued to support children and families through virtual programming, nothing can replace our normal end-of-year hugs and high fives.   

But not being together at the end of the year doesn’t make our SY2019-2020 successes any less amazing. In fact, this year we all accomplished more than ever before – more students, more volunteers, more books, and more schools.  Add to that how our EWDC family came together to continue serving children and families during this incredibly challenging time and this is a year for the record books. In fact, we’ve decided to keep going! Unlike prior years, EWDC will continue to support our children and families into the summer months through online programs and book distributions. Our kids need support, and we’re here to help.  

Thank you all for your dedication and support. These are extraordinary times and the EWDC community has responded in extraordinary ways. So, while the 2019-2020 school year is coming to a close, we’re already counting down the days until we can kick things off in 2020-2021.  

With gratitude, 
 
Jordi Hutchinson
EWDC Executive Director
End-of-Year Celebrations!
End-of-year celebrations will look a bit different this year. Sponsors, mentors, family and friends, come on out...well, rather...stay indoors and join us virtually on Facebook and Twitter as we celebrate the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
School Year 2019-2020 at a Glance
The full 2019-2020 Shared Reading Report will be available in June, but here is a preview of our program successes this school year:
With your help, 580 Power Lunch students enjoyed over  6,700 hours  of shared reading. Even more impressive:
  • Had program ended as scheduled in May, we were on track to log over 9,400 shared reading hours! 
  • With this month's Mt. Vernon Triangle CID distribution, we have now distributed almost 6,000 books - and we will continue community distributions throughout the summer! 
COVID-19 Response Programming
For the first time in EWDC’s history, our children aren’t in their classrooms. COVID-19 has closed schools, pushing students to distance learning for the remainder of the academic year. Yet this is exactly when our children need us the most. 

To help support our communities during this incredibly challenging time, we launched a new set of programs in April to bring the power of shared reading directly to children and families while they are safely at home. Check out the progress we have made since then.
Power Lunch Pen Pals
Pen Pals has exchanged  over 200 messages  between mentors and students. Messages have come from participants at every Power Lunch School in the form of letters, pictures and videos. We have been even more touched by the quality and amount of time put into these messages.

Shared Reading Library
The Shared Reading Library has brought kids and families more than 4+ hours of on-demand shared reading experiences from mentors and community volunteers.


The Book Project
EWDC has collaborated with community organizations to mobilize The Book Project in neighborhoods with the greatest need, bringing free, age-appropriate books and family literacy resources right to families’ front doors.     

Power Yoga
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at  Everybody Wins DC , we recognize and appreciate the many benefits that   yoga   can have not only on the well-being and mental wellness of adults, but for children too!

In support of this, and to celebrate our students finishing the school year, EWDC will host its very first “ Power Yoga ” class TOMORROW, Saturday, May 30 at 10:30am on Zoom.

This is a family friendly event, and children, especially our Power Lunch students are welcome to join!  Tickets are $25.  All proceeds help EWDC support our students and programs.
8 SLOTS AVAILABLE
Unable to make the event, but still want to support? 

Make a tax deductible  DONATION  or  SHARE  this link with your network.

For more information email:  communications@everybodywinsdc.org
Ways to Support Everybody Wins DC
Monthly Supporter Program
In honor of our 25th birthday, we’re looking for  25 new monthly supporters who can give at least $25 a month to ensure students receive the benefits of shared reading . Thank you to our first 10 supporters, just 15 more to go!


Amazon Smile
Are you online shopping more than usual these days?
Buy your everyday household goods and groceries through Amazon Smile and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to EWDC to support our mission (at no cost to you) . Shop via smile.amazon.com and select the "Everybody Wins DC" as your charity.

Save the Amazon extension to your browser here .