The Raising A Reader Review | Autumn 2010 Edition
Raising A Reader Massachusetts is committed to giving every child an equal opportunity for achievement by engaging low-income parents in a routine of daily book sharing from birth to age five.
A Note from the Executive Director This fall has been an exciting one for the Raising A Reader MA family. We launched initiatives in Brockton and Lowell so that over the next few months 1,000 new children and families will benefit from Raising A Reader MA’s tools and trainings. These little readers-those most at risk for academic underperformance-will now receive bright red bags filled with high-quality and age-appropriate children’s books every week so that they enter school with the love of books and ready to learn. And, the adults in their lives will receive training about the importance of regular parent-child book sharing for healthy brain development, as well as proven, dialogic reading techniques. While expanding to these two new communities, Raising A Reader MA continues to rotate our bright red bags filled with books to over 8,000 children across the Commonwealth! Click here to learn more about the communities we serve.
We are incredibly thankful for all of our champions, whose unwavering generosity has allowed us to serve more children than ever, even during challenging economic times. In all, since our founding in 2006, Raising A Reader MA has been able to circulate over 32,000 books and train more than 2,200 parents and 1,200 childcare staff. It is because of the dedication of champions like you that Raising A Reader MA has touched the lives of more than 10,000 families.
On behalf of the entire Raising A Reader Family, thank you.
Donna DiFillippo, Executive Director
Raising A Reader Named 2010 Top Nonprofit Philanthropedia has voted Raising A Reader a top US non-profit! Philanthropedia is a nonprofit organization working to help donors make smarter donations by connecting them with some of the highest-impact nonprofits in a cause.
A Raising A Reader Parent Says….
This week at the Keverian School in Everett, Raising a Reader MA met with immigrant families from Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Haiti to celebrate the parents’ power as their children’s first teachers.  In a community where less than half of children score proficient on their third grade reading test, these mothers and fathers learned about the impact of early literacy on their child’s brain development as well as learned interactive reading tools. Monica Ulysses, Raising A Reader Parent turned volunteer, says, “Last year my son was in the Webster Public Preschool in Everett and he used to bring the red bag home every week. I loved it. My husband loved it. All my family loved it. And when we received the blue bag as a gift in the end of the year it was great. My son loves to go to the library with his blue bag. I am very happy to help Raising A Reader, especially to help the Haitian community. Yesterday the families I was working with were so happy. That was the first time they ever had a training in their home language. They really appreciated it. Raising A Reader helped me discover how it is to read with my children. RAR started the job for me. Now we have fun to do it. Thank you Raising A Reader!”
Champions for Children
In September, nearly forty dedicated cyclists joined the Rodman Ride for Kids on behalf of Raising A Reader MA. Collectively, they cycled over a thousand miles and raised over $30,000 to help give children an equal opportunity for achievement.  In October, the Third Annual Goodnight Moon Gala brought together nearly thirty distinguished authors and over 200 guests resulting in over $120,000 pledged to help improve the lives of children and families most in need.  Holly LeCraw, author of The Swimming Pool, a Pushcart Prize Nominee and a speaker at the gala explains, “simple children’s books led to my first sustained acts of imagination.  I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without my parents reading to me.”
Harvard Business School Alums Help to Raise Readers
A team of consultants from Harvard University’s Community Action Partners (CAP) has joined the efforts to raise little readers. CAP is a volunteer organization of Harvard Business School (HBS) alumni helping Boston-area nonprofits apply management skills to their business challenges. Founded in 1993, more than 770 CAP volunteers have served 145 nonprofit clients. This team of distinguished alumnae are helping Raising A Reader MA to identify an earned income stream, so that the organization can continue to help children enter school with a love of books and ready to learn!
From the National Office The recent conversations about the state of education in our country, spurred by the release of the film “Waiting for Superman” have been of great interest to Raising A Reader National’s Executive Director, Gabrielle Miller. In an op-ed published in Good Magazine online, she shares her perspective on the power of parents. Read the op-ed.
Want to get involved this holiday season?
Join the Legacy of Giving, hosted by Legacy Place on Sunday, November 14th, is an evening of shopping in support of charity. 100% of ticket sales will directly benefit Raising A Reader MA, so come help raise little readers across the Commonwealth while enjoying one-time special offers on your holiday shopping! Enjoy savings of up to 30% in a festive atmosphere at participating businesses and a chance to win a pair of JetBlue tickets anywhere Jet Blue flies!
Join our holiday book drive and buy a book for a child who is academically at risk just in time for the holidays. Did you know there is a direct link between children’s earliest vocabulary skills and their academic achievement later in life? (See the research.) Just $25 will provide one high-quality book and the Raising A Reader MA-produced instructional DVD, “Storytime: How to Share Books with your Child” (available in three languages), providing the proven tools and resources children need to enter school with a love of books and ready to learn. Buy a book for a child.
Contriubte to your company’s United Way Campaign. Designate “Raising A Reader MA” as the recipient of your contribution. Your funds will provide bright red bags filled with high quality and age appropriate children’s books to rotate in the homes of families every week.
Thank you for helping to raise readers across the Commonwealth,
so children can enter school with a love of books and ready to learn!