As we enter the season of Thanksgiving and near the end of the semester, we’ve gotten questions of how to engage with the schools & students in additional meaningful ways.
First, you are doing this through the time you give each week to come be a part of this incredible movement. I, on behalf of many, want to let you know how incredibly thankful we are for each of you. You are Lead to Read, and you ARE making a difference. In the US, the typical middle-class child enters first grade with 1,000-1,700 hours of picture book reading time; a low-income child averages just 25 hours.* You’re part of bridging that gap!
Secondly, we have two ways that you can further engage during this fall/holiday season. Over the next several weeks the Classroom & Site Coordinators will be accepting monetary donations at each of the reading session. You can also make tax deductible donations very easily online here. These donations will go toward the purchase of a book for each of the students in the program. On our final day of reading for the semester, each Reader will be able to give a book to their student. These books will go home with them to read and enjoy!
Finally, we will have a box or bin set up at each school to accept book donations. These books will be collected and donated to the school for the classroom and library use. New or gently used books can be added to these boxes until the final session of the year. Please note: we appreciate your thoughtfulness in only donating books that have life left in them. Torn, tattered or worn down books should be recycled.
*Health for All Children: Revised Fourth Edition By David M B Hall, David Elliman