Here's a quick update for everybody:
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1999, 6:00 p.m.
Barragan's Restaurant, 1538 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90026.
(213) 250-4256
Dinner will be provided, starting at 6:30 p.m., and arranged (not
cooked) by Raul Fernandez.
If you have an interest in getting more involved with Reading to Kids,
this is a meeting you should not miss! We will be discussing the topics
set forth below and we are looking for people to get more involved by
bringing their own ideas to the table. Those of you who have
participated in a Reading Club session are eminently qualified to
participate, so please consider getting more involved.
We set a new record for students in September. Our fifth consecutive
record! Our volunteers read to 115 students. However, because of the
Rosh Hashanah holiday, we had fewer volunteers in September than in the
month before for the first time in five months. We need EVERYONE'S help
to turn that around in October. Our goal is a minimum of 48
volunteers! With 48 volunteers we will have 24 classes, which works out
to 4 classes per grade level. With 4 classes per grade level, and
assuming six students per grade, we can accommodate 144 students in
October.
Jon Tomlin, Brad Hall, Sean Morris, Maryann Vogelsang, and I have been
hard at work the last couple of weeks doing the following:
(1) We have set up a bank account for our organization, and starting
next week we will be accepting and actively seeking donations, which
will primarily cover the following: (a) food for the volunteers and
parents; (b) books to be donated to Gratts and future elementary schools
that participate in our programs. This will be discussed at the
Organizational Meeting.
(2) The website continues to be improved
(http://www.readingtokids.org). By the middle of next week, the online
application form will be completed. We will also have the ability for
people to RSVP online and to check out the latest month's Reading List.
Finally, we are in the process of setting up online bulletin boards so
we can discuss the development of this project. Feel free to browse the
site now, keeping in mind that September 22 is the date we will consider
the site operational. So, if you have friends who might be interested,
please refer them to the website after September 22. Please also note
that this system of e-mailing updates will also be changing within the
next couple of weeks. We will go to a far more efficient web based
system. Stay tuned for further details.
(3) Today we will be mailing to the State of California our forms
officially beginning the process of incorporating as a nonprofit
corporation. Sean Morris (through the generosity of his firm, Arnold &
Porter) has spearheaded this effort and has done a fantastic job.
(4) Jon and I will be going, along with many of the teachers from
Gratts, to the LA Times Reading by Nine Conference this weekend. We'll
report back to you on what we learned.
Once again, thanks for your continuing interest in reading to kids as a
way to promote literacy. Our new organization is setting up the
foundation for the future development of the Reading Clubs. If you
would like to be a part of this growth, please come to the meeting next
Tuesday. If you can't make it on Tuesday, please feel free to share
your ideas on the website starting next week, and we hope to see you at
Gratts in October.
Jason
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