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2011
- We Do Not Have a Child to Spare Janet Porter, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, looks at a few numbers with growing concern…“These numbers tell me Massachusetts will have trouble maintaining the pipeline of skilled, well-educated workers our innovation-based economy needs,” she writes in “Making the grade with literacy.” Porter, who chairs the board of Raising a Reader Massachusetts, looks to high-quality early education and language and literacy development as critical to the commonwealth’s economic future… Source: Eye on Early Education 12/14/11.
- Donna DiFillippo named 2011 Champion for Literacy -$3,500 prize money raised through Verizon’s ‘Check Into Literacy’ Program. The Massachusetts Literacy Foundation, in partnership with Verizon’s Check
Into Literacy Program, announced on September 22, 2011 that Raising A Reader MA’s Executive Director, Donna DiFillippo, was one of ten recipients of the 2011 Massachusetts Literacy Champion Award. The Massachusetts Literacy Champion Award, created in 2003, identifies and supports Massachusetts literacy providers who have shown exceptional commitment and results through their work in literacy education. Each year ten literacy champions from across Massachusetts are selected and recognized for their achievements in the field. The Award comes with a $3,500 cash prize which must be used to support both creative program development and professional growth. Source: Press Release 10/11
- Programa Incentiva a Leitura Entre Jovens Brasileiros. O Programa Raising a Reader ( ou Criando um Leitor), que gera conscientização sobre a importância do hábito da leitura entre as crianças brasileiras, estará promovendo uma série de eventos de verão nas cidades de Somerville, Everett, Chelsea e East Boston no mês de julho. Source: Brazillian Times 7/11: Note: In Portuguese.
- Raising a Reader Massachusetts is dedicated to early childhood literacy. Because summer is a time when many young children fall behind in academic skills, Raising a Reader has developed a summer reading program to keep young children exposed to books over these critical 3 months. Executive Director Donna DiFillippo, a seasoned advocate for childhood education, is authoring a weblog to help parents and other caregivers promote reading with children. Source: Au Pair News Boston Area Childcare 7/11
- Beacon Hill Circle donates $1,650 to Raising A Reader MA –Donation More than Doubled through Spring into Reading Campaign - At its spring meeting, members of the Beacon Hill
Circle for Charity unanimously agreed to donate $1,650 to Raising A Reader MA, an award winning organization that provides critical early literacy resources to 8,000 children and families in need across the Commonwealth. Further, through Raising A Reader MA’s inaugural Spring into Reading campaign, the Beacon Hill Circle for Charity’s donation will more than double to $3,630, helping families-in-need receive the critical early literacy support necessary for pre-school children to blossom into ready-to-learn students. Source: Beacon Hill Times 5/11
- Nonprofit Spotlight: Raising A Reader MA Recognized as one of the Top NonProfits Changing the World by Fast Company Magazine and Top NonProfit of 2010 by Philanthropedia, Raising A Reader helps families in need create high quality early literacy environments at home. As a result, these children will enter kindergarten ready to learn, so they can grow up ready to succeed. “Early literacy is the major stepping stone for children to be successful in school and in life,” according to Joanne Stone-Linon, director of Head Start. Source: Color Magazine 5/11
- Raising A Reader Names a Head of Development, Growth..Since joining Raising A Reader MA last
September, Bruce launched the organization’s inaugural Spring into Reading campaign with the support of several champions of children, including Kevin Youkilis, the Aquitaine Restaurant Group, Color Magazine, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and the Rodman Ride for Kids. Source: MassNonProfit 4/8/11
- The Director of Strategic Growth and Development for Raising A Reader Massachusetts is featured in a University of Virginia profile for her dedication and commitment to social issues.
- Raising A Reader named Top Nonprofit by Philanthropedia. Highlighting the work of Raising A Reader affiliates in the Bay Area, 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. First, they use experts to identify high-impact nonprofits. Second, Philanthropedia groups the top nonprofits into an Expert Fund. By giving through Philanthropedia’s innovative Expert Fund, donors can donate to an entire group of top-nonprofits, pooling their resources with others to maximize their impact. Visit Philanthropedia’s website (http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/) to learn more about how the experts reviewed us. Source: Philanthropedia
2010
- Raising A Reader Chosen as a Boston Courant Holiday Charity. Source: Boston Courant 12/10
- RAR Kindergarten Success Nearly half of the children entering kindergarten lack the
early reading skills needed for school success (US Dept of Education) Source: Raising A Reader National 11/10
- Goodnight Moon Gala in Courant Societe. Source: Boston Courant 11/10
- Boston Herald and the Goodnight Moon Gala Featured Author William Martin...That best-selling Boston scribe William Martin’s latest historical thriller, “City of Dreams,” has been optioned by ABC for development as a TV series. And speaking of local writers, Martin, along with 30 other bookish types, will headline the annual Goodnight Moon Gala at Davio’s in Park Square on Wednesday. The benefit is for Raising A Reader, an early literacy program. Source: Boston Herald 10/10
- Thirty Local and National Authors Come Together to Raise Funds for Early Literacy Program–Raising A Reader MA’s Thrives, Despite Economy- at Davio’s. Featured authors include: Sven Birkerts, Bill Brett, Jay Calderin, James Carroll, Elisha Daniels, Anita Diamant, Anne Easter Smith, Neil Gaiman, Carey Goldberg, Iris Gomez, Stan Grossfeld, Joan Hill, Michelle Hoover, Mark Peter Hughes, John Jacobs, Ha Jin, Beth Jones, Holly LeCraw, Alexandra Marshall, William Martin, Barbara Meltz, Randy Susan Meyers, Tricia Psarreas, Nancy Rappaport, Birute Regine, Jessica Shattuck, Kelley Tuthill, Robert Veninga, and Harriet Ziefert. Billy Costa will be the emcee and live auctioneer for the gala. Source: Press Release 10/10
- Raising A Reader Gets Children Started Early ….The child-care room buzzes with
activity at the end of the school year. Everyone knows this is a special day. Every week, all year long, the children have borrowed bright red bags full of books from their classroom. Every week, all year long, they have dutifully returned the bags. But today is different. Today, all the children will get their very own blue bag to keep and use every time they visit the library. Source: American Libraries Magazine 8/10
- An Interview with Dr. Gabrielle Miller: Raising a Reader ….Why is reading aloud to children so important? (Dr. Miller responds…) We know that there is a tremendous amount of growth in a young child’s brain. Over 700 neural connections are made in a young child’s brain per second- which is simply staggering to think about. Those essential connections represent the cognitive, language, and social-emotional framework through which a child develops. Positive, supportive relationships with young children in which caring adults take the time to communicate are critical to build all three areas. While talking, singing, playing, spending time together are very powerful, reading to children is perhaps the most powerful way to support cognitive and language development. Source: Early Education, Michael F. Shaughnessy, 6/29/10