Read, Think, Share Program Grows at E.N. White

After a successful pilot program of Reader to Reader's Read, Think, Share last April, 7th and 8th graders at E.N. White School in Holyoke are reading and corresponding online with our college student mentors again this fall!

Popular authors there this year include Libby Bray, Kristin Cashore, and Sherrilyn Kenyon, and the students love writing to the mentors each day.

And for the mentors, nothing is better than having a student write that magical sentence: “I’m really enjoying this book!”

$18,000 in New Science Textbooks for Ghana University

Reader to Reader is pleased to announce an $18,000 new science textbooks donation to Presbyterian University College, Ghana.     

Located in Agogo, Ghana, the university serves the people within the Kwahu Traditional Area.

The science textbooks include multiple copies of the following titles:
 

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, NEUROANATOMY THROUGH CLINICAL CASE, LEARNING & BEHAVIOR, BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY, THE CELL, DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, PRIMER OF ECOLOGICAL STATISTICS, ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, WHY WE SEE WHAT WE DO, EXPLORING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, MICROBIAL LIFE , and PLANT PHYSIOLOGY.

The textbooks are now heading to Ghana as part of Reader to Reader’s Ghana Book Project.

The donation was made possible through the generosity of Sinauer Associates,  publishers of college-level textbooks and educational multimedia in biology, psychology, neuroscience, and allied disciplines.

A special thank you to Sinauer Associates for making this donation possible.

Save the Date: Valley Give Day is December 12, 2013

Save the Date! Valley Gives Day is December 12!

Valley Gives Day is only a month away and we are thrilled to be participating again this year. This 24-hour online giving day leverages your donations to support the organizations working hard to improve our communities. The theme this year is “Bring a Friend,” so let your friends know that this is a great way to support Reader to Reader.

Mark your Calendars, and be part of our team to bring literacy and books to communities worldwide!

http://valleygives.razoo.com/Readertoreader

Congratulations to Leonard Marcus

We were honored to present our annual Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy Award to Leonard Marcus on Sunday at the Michelson Gallery's 24th Annual Children's Illustration Exhibit kick-off. 

A celebrated historian of children's literature, who has written 25 books and thousands of book reviews, and is the curator of the New York Public Library's landmark exhibition "The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter," Leonard Marcus has done so much to legitimize the study of children's literature and to expand our understanding of it.

Thank you for your lifelong commitment to children's literacy, Leonard!

Just Desserts!

 Thank you to everyone who made our first annual Dessert Crawl a huge success! Over 300 people participated, raising thousands of dollars to support Reader to Reader programs. What a wonderful way to bring the community together for sweet desserts and a great cause. And we couldn't have asked for better weather! 

Special thanks to our sponsors: Phi Sigma Pi, Amherst Business Improvement District and Steve Lewis Subaru. Their support made this incredible event possible.

Halloween Scares Up 17,500 Books for Navajo Nation Schools

Despite the spooky Halloween weather, our intrepid partners at the Navajo Nation Public Library are driving a book-filled U-Haul yet again! 

17,500 books and 21 computers are en route to the Navajo Nation, where they will be distributed to over 36 schools on the Navajo and Hopi reservations, the public library and its branch, Head Start programs, and Thoreau Community Center. The Office of the First Lady will also receive thousands of children’s books and college prep books for distribution across the Navajo Nation.

Director of the Navajo Nation Public Library Irving Nelson and his associate Everett Ettsity flew into Hartford, CT Wednesday night and picked up the U-Haul Thursday morning. Thanks to our incredible crew of volunteers, the loading was complete in only an hour and a half. Former mentoring students from Navajo Pine High School Jeff Chen and Kyle Clark were on site to assist, as well as community volunteer Paul Curran.  

Irving and Everett will drive the U-Haul back to Window Rock, Arizona after giving a presentation at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. The books and computers will be delivered along the way, and over the next several weeks. 

 This is the 9^th trip the staff from the Navajo Nation Public Library have made to deliver books across the reservation. Executive Director David Mazor said “I truly admire Irving and Everett’s unwavering dedication to delivering resources across the reservation. It’s a long trip and a lot of work, and as long as they’re ready for the journey we’ll have books for them!” 

We are delighted to continue our Navajo Nation Book Drive after completing the initial pledge of 100,000 books this May. Our work with the Navajo Nation is supported by the Fordham Street Foundation, Exclusive Car Services, the Office of the First Lady, and all of our volunteers, donors and supporters.

If you would like to support the work we do, please visit the “Lend a Hand” section of our website to learn more about holding a book drive and how to donate to Reader to Reader.