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Reading to Kids News
October 7, 2021
 

Dear Friends of Reading to Kids,

HELP! 6 MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
FOR THIS SATURDAY!

27 teachers are Zoom hosting for us this Saturday, so we urgently need 6 more volunteers this Saturday morning to read aloud to their students on Zoom!

Run over to our homepage at www.readingtokids.org and submit your RSVP now for our "Halloween, Magic, & Monsters" reading clubs!

Whiteboard drawing from Zoom reading clubs

Volunteers will also get to share with the kids a special magical performance by a teenage magician as part of our tradition of bringing magic to our October reading clubs!

We must continue to limit RSVPs for these virtual reading clubs only to returning volunteers- people who have volunteered with us at least once before at any of our previous face-to-face or virtual reading clubs.

Here's your chance to read to kids again this Saturday, no matter where in the world you live! Help us meet our promise to provide volunteer readers to every teacher Zoom host! See further below how virtual clubs work.

Please also ask any of your friends and family who have ever read with us at any of our prior reading clubs (face-to-face or virtual) to RSVP now at our homepage at www.readingtokids.org!

(If you are signed up but can't attend after all, please click here to cancel ASAP or before 3:00 p.m. tomorrow so someone else can take your place!)

If you check our website and find all reader spots are full today or tomorrow, please keep checking back so we'll have enough volunteers.

STAND-BY READERS WANTED!

If all spots are full you can also let us know at info@readingtokids.org if you are willing to be a "stand-by" reader this Saturday. A "stand-by" reader is someone willing to fill in for any grade at any school if we have any last-second reader cancellations.

Stand-by readers must be available this Saturday morning from 8am to around 11am and willing to read via Zoom to any grade at any school. It's a really important role!
_______________________________________________

HOW VIRTUAL READING CLUBS WORK

Zoom reading clubs

Because LAUSD has not yet determined when volunteer organizations can return to on-campus events, we continue to use Zoom for these virtual reading clubs.

The reading clubs will be hosted by participating teachers at each school using their school Zoom accounts, but you will need your own Zoom account to join the reading club. If you don’t already have a Zoom account, you can sign up for a free, Basic account here: https://zoom.us/pricing

IMPORTANT: You will need to use Zoom from a desktop or laptop computer. The phone and tablet versions of Zoom do not have the necessary features for our virtual reading clubs.

Ideally, anyone who volunteers for these virtual reading clubs will be comfortable using Zoom. If you wish to test out your Zoom connectivity prior to the reading clubs, we encourage you to email us at info@readingtokids.org so we may do a brief test run with you before the virtual reading clubs.

The Friday before the reading clubs you will receive a link for a Zoom "check-in" session with your Site Coordinators that will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. that Saturday. Click here to review the schedule for these virtual reading clubs.

Once you and your fellow volunteers are checked in, that same Zoom session will have a Zoom Volunteer Orientation / Virtual Reading Club Training that will start promptly at 9:15 a.m.

At 9:30 a.m. you and your volunteer partner will leave that Site Coordinator session and then join the teacher's Zoom session. The teacher will host the Zoom call and make you co-hosts. The first 30 minutes will be for troubleshooting and a prep session for just you and your reading partner and the teacher.

The kids will join that same reading club Zoom session at 10:00 a.m., and it will likely go until 10:30 or 11:00, at the teacher's discretion.

After the reading clubs end you will then rejoin your Site Coordinator's Zoom call for a brief wrap-up.

To screen share the book you will be reading with the children, you will need Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader.

We will provide you a PDF of the read-aloud book so you can prepare for the reading clubs. You can see the read-aloud book titles for this month at https://readingtokids.org/Books/BooksMonth.php.

We will provide at the above link activities and simple craft ideas the kids can do at home. You would prepare to lead the kids in an activity and craft, though you may not actually do a craft, depending upon how the Zoom session goes. The kids may just want to talk to new faces!

Kindergarten crafts at LA Elementary
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VIRTUAL LEGENDARY BINGO & COSTUME PARTY
FRI. OCTOBER 29TH AT 7:30 PM:
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW
& HELP FIND MORE PRIZES!

Reading to Kids' Legendary Bingo fundraiser

It's back! On Friday, October 29th, join Reading to Kids for Virtual Legendary Bingo on Zoom!

Click their link above to see a video on their website of how it works. Just like our past bingo events at Hamburger Mary's, virtual drag queen bingo is "R" rated and seats are limited!

Tickets to play four games of virtual bingo are just $25, with only 60 tickets available - so click this link to buy your ticket today!

Buy Your Virtual Legendary Bingo Tickets!

We'll also have a virtual costume party competition for those who choose to wear a costume, as well as exciting auction items to bid on - with all proceeds benefiting Reading to Kids. To help recruit players, please also visit our October 29th Bingo event on Facebook and invite your friends!

Volunteers in costumes on Zoom


HELP FIND MORE BINGO PRIZES!

You can also help us gather more prizes for the bingo winners! Since this is virtual bingo we are looking for items we can mail or send via email, such as $25 or $50 gift cards.

We also enjoy awarding gift certificates, gift bags, and autographed items! Anything unique is great, too!

To help you get started, here is information about Reading to Kids you can share with potential donors (such as where you work or shop), as well as a donation form for them to download and fill out.


If you work at or have a connection with products or services to offer, please help us by asking for a donation to our events.

Reading to Kids' Legendary Bingo fundraiser
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SUPPORT OUR
2021 MARATHON RUNNERS
HELP US HAND OUT WATER DURING THE RACE!

Help represent Reading to Kids during the Los Angeles Marathon on November 7th by handing out water to the runners!

Our group will be at Water Station Mile 5 at Glendale Blvd., between Bellevue and Kent St. in Echo Park, on Sunday, November 7th from 5am - 11am.

Click this link to sign up. Our group is Reading to Kids and our shift location should be listed in green. Click the box to the green J05 Water Station Mile 5 shift, complete the form, and sign up to volunteer!

Supporting our runners

If you can't join us at the above, then donate your support!

Our 2021 runners have until November 7th to reach their $10,000 fundraising goal! If you can donate a buck a mile to your favorite runner, you'll help fuel them towards the finish line!

Team Reading to Kids banner

With every mile they train and every dollar they raise, these valiant souls help you inspire kids with a love of reading.

Team Reading to Kids 2018 Skechers Performance LA Marathon runners

NINE RUNNERS NEEDED FOR THE
2022 LA MARATHON,
13.1 MILE CHARITY CHALLENGE,
OR 5K!

Do you know any runners? Are you a runner? Please forward this email to them and ask them to join Team Reading to Kids in the 2022 Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 20th!

 Team Reading to Kids logo

We're looking for at least three more marathon runners and six Charity Challenge runners (the last 13.1 miles of the course) to join us in one of the best marathons in the country.

If either of those distances is too daunting, you can join us in the LA Big 5K (that's just 3.1 miles) near Dodger Stadium the day before the marathon on Saturday, March 19, 2022.

You can share this Facebook group with any of your runner friends to encourage them to join our team!

If you or a runner you know is interested in becoming one of our fundraising runners or creating a fundraising team, please email Chris Martin at marathon@readingtokids.org!

IMPORTANT NOTE: To register to run on behalf of Reading to Kids, you MUST receive from us a special web address to use when registering on the Los Angeles Marathon website.

Team Reading to Kids runners
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Thanks, and we hope you can RSVP at www.readingtokids.org for this Saturday's "Halloween, Magic, & Monsters" reading clubs!

Sincerely,

Charlie Orchard & Talethe Collins
Reading to Kids
1600 Sawtelle Blvd, Suite 210
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-7455
(310) 479-7435 (FAX)
info@readingtokids.org
www.readingtokids.org
www.facebook.com/readingtokids
www.twitter.com/readingtokids
www.readingtokids.blogspot.com

Make a donation:
www.readingtokids.org/HowToHelp/HelpDonate.php

OCTOBER 2021
Reading Club RSVPs
School RSVPs Capacity
Alta Loma 7 8
Esperanza 14 15
Gratts 8 9
Los Angeles 6 6
MacArthur Park 9 9
Magnolia 10 11
Politi 5 5
White 9 11
TOTAL 68 74
OCTOBER Books. . .
Kindergarten book
Kindergarten
First Grade book
First Grade
Second Grade book
Second Grade
Third Grade book
Third Grade
Fourth Grade book
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade book
Fifth Grade

Reading to Kids is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Visit www.readingtokids.org for more information.

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