A great gig: a volunteer profile of Joe Biola

by ChaptersVolunteer Readers

By Nikki Moses

How was Read Aloud today, Mr. Biola?

“Swell.” The energy in his voice is unmistakable. He has just returned from reading to three classrooms of devoted kids at North School in Elkins. “Swell.”

Biola, a retired insurance executive, wanted to read aloud to children but did not have an avenue. Then he found out about Read Aloud West Virginia. That was four years ago. Today the veteran volunteer reads to six classrooms each week, half on Tuesdays and half on Fridays. Students range from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade.

“Today I had ‘guest pickers,’’’ he said. Hmmm? “My grandson picked Bony Legs by Joanna Cole. It’s a little scary so the kids liked it. My wife picked Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders.” This “pick” is a story written in 1893 about a dog that has had a tough start in life. “It is still resonant today,” Biola explained.

He frequents Elkins’ public library and the Davis and Elkins College library in search of titles, and he keeps a log of books that work well.

Roald Dahl is a favorite, including his The Enormous Crocodile. “It’s about a crocodile that likes to eat children,” he said, laughing. He also reads The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The BFG to his fourth graders. How to Be Cool in the Third Grade by Betsy Duffey is another favorite.

He has read from the Harry Potter series, too. These lengthy novels are too long for Biola to read in their entirety. He reads a few chapters and then lets the kids’ appetite for reading take over. “If they want (to finish reading) it, they know where to find it,” he said.

An original title is Big Butch the Blue Nosed Reindeer. This is a story Biola created for his children. His daughter, Dr. Holly Biola, turned it into picture book. Another amazing story is Willa the Caterpilla, a story written by her father-in-law, the late Dr. Don Roberts. Roberts wrote Willa during his time as a doctor serving in World War II and sent it back to his daughters.

Second grade teacher Brittany Scarberry sings Biola’s praises. “He comes faithfully every week, right on time…He reads with wonderful expression, and even does voice impressions for different characters.

“Mr. Biola brings so much joy and knowledge to the students through reading. A consistent example of an adult reading for enjoyment offers so many benefits to the students,” she said.

Asked about his reading style, Biola said, laughing, “I have a falsetto and a bass. And I can do Donald Duck. There are not many times to use that one, but I am ready.”

He advises readers to vet their books carefully, and “Keep your appointment,” he counsels.

In the end Biola believes he is the one who benefits the most from Read Aloud. “I have a great gig,” he said.

Nikki Moses is the former editor of the Read Aloud newsletter and a board member.

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National Book grant books distributed throughout WV

by Book DistributionNews

By Lesley McCullough McCallister

Read Aloud West Virginia was selected by the Coughlan Companies Communities Fund, in partnership with GreaterGood.org (GGO), to receive a National Book grant valued at nearly $200,000. The gift includes thousands of books that will directly benefit West Virginia children and families.

A portion of those books arrived at the Read Aloud office in Charleston at the end of March. For more than eight hours on Saturday, March 25, volunteer students from Bridge Valley Community and Technical College and Charleston Catholic High School helped package and prepare more than 7,200 books for distribution to 32 Read Aloud West Virginia member schools throughout the state.

These generous volunteers performed a myriad of tasks, including making sure each book received a Read Aloud book plate so the student receiving the book could proudly write his or her name in his or her very own, brand new book. Additionally, students pushed shopping carts around tables in the Columbia Gas building auditorium with “shopping lists” for each school, packaged and labeled shipping boxes, and then loaded the boxes into the rental van for delivery. Each enrolled Read Aloud West Virginia school received 20 books per Read Aloud classroom, and deliveries were made to member schools before the end of the school year.

Executive Director Mary Kay Bond noted the importance of getting these books in the hands of students before the end of the school year, just in time to highlight the importance of summer reading among all students.

“Far too often children lose reading skills over the summer due to a lack of reading,” said Bond. “The result is that teachers have to spend important classroom time at the beginning of the next school year bringing students back to their previous skill level. This remediation time is not necessary if children maintain skills over the summer, and they can do so by reading.”

A second shipment of books is being prepared for distribution at a later time. Once the remaining books are added to the count, Read Aloud West Virginia will have distributed more than 11,000 books from the National Book grant throughout the Mountain State.

Lesley McCullough McCallister is a Read Aloud supporter, volunteer reader, newsletter contributor and a freelance journalist.

Readers, we want to hear from you!

by Volunteer Readers

Active readers, watch your inboxes or mailboxes for Read Aloud’s year-end Reader Survey. This is the best way for us to know who wants to read again (and who, for some crazy reason, does not), so we can provide those names to schools’ Read Aloud coordinators early the next school year. This allows schools to get a jump start on placing readers in the fall, and helps ensure that you get placed where you want to be. It also allows us to identify remaining reader needs at a school after existing readers have been placed, so we can fill those as soon as new readers become available. (Please note that it is the school coordinators who will contact you for placement, not the Read Aloud office; but if you do not want to wait until your school’s coordinator reaches out, be proactive. Call your school or teacher directly!)

We also love feedback on your volunteer reader experience! Use the survey to tell us something good, or bad, or funny, or problematic, that happened. If you have ideas to improve the program, let us know! And if you found a book that was a home run with your class, please share it, and tell us why. We created a book list on our website from titles readers have suggested for others to use.

We are testing electronic (email) delivery of these surveys this year, but we don’t have email addresses for everyone. Surveys should be returned no later than June 30 so we can plan for the school year ahead.

If for some reason you do not receive a survey, our recent database conversion is likely the reason; but we still want to hear from you! Take the survey here or contact us to request your survey by email or hard copy.

Thank you in advance for your response. We absolutely cannot do this without you. Keep on reading!

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Read Aloud celebrates 30 years at Read-A-Palooza fundraiser

by EventsRead-a-Palooza

By Lesley McCullough McCallister

Volunteers, friends, community supporters, board members and staff gathered on March 20 for Read-A-Palooza and to celebrate 30 years of Read Aloud in the Mountain State.

Nearly 200 attendees enjoyed delicious food and a lively atmosphere courtesy of Paterno’s at the Park in Charleston. This year’s “Generation Read Aloud” theme highlighted the stories of individuals who grew up with Read Aloud in their own classrooms, as well as teachers, parents, and readers.

“The fact that we were celebrating our 30th birthday encouraged us to take a look back and reflect on the impact the program has had in the lives of West Virginia’s children,” said Mary Kay Bond, Read Aloud West Virginia executive director. “We were able to highlight stories from students benefitting from the program in the early years and the role reading continues to play in their lives today as parents of a new generation.”

Read-A-Palooza was extra special because Steve Westfall, a member of the West Virginia Legislature and a Jackson County Read Aloud reader, presented RAWV with a citation from the West Virginia House of Delegates recognizing and applauding Read Aloud’s 30 years of volunteer service to the children of West Virginia. United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito and West Virginia poet laureate Marc Harshman sent prerecorded anniversary messages.

Thanks to the support of Read-A-Palooza Signature Sponsors BrickStreet Insurance and The Elliot Family Foundation, as well as the generosity of additional corporate sponsors and individual donors, this year’s Read-A-Palooza event was the organization’s most successful to date. Read Aloud staff expressed gratitude to all who attended, donated or otherwise showed support to help make the 30th anniversary celebration extra special.

Lesley McCullough McCallister is a Read Aloud supporter, volunteer reader, newsletter contributor and a freelance journalist.

To see photos (courtesy of Rafael Barker) from our 2017 Read-A-Palooza event, visit our Facebook page.

Beckley Art Center collaborates with Raleigh County Read Aloud

by ChaptersEventsPartnersVolunteer Readers

By Lesley McCullough McCallister

Last October, artists from the Beckley Art Center teamed up with two Raleigh County Read Aloud volunteers, Ann Cline and Ruth Baker, to bring original works of art coupled with original stories to area elementary students.

Peggy Dubnam and other local artists from the Beckley Art Center were staging an exhibit and auction of original dolls and their stories. Dubnam contacted Cline and Baker about the possibility of taking the dolls and stories to their Read Aloud classrooms. Cline and Baker were more than willing to join forces.

Cline and Dubnam visited a first-grade class at Crab Orchard Elementary with a handcrafted doll and read Debnam’s original story about the doll’s adventures to the students.

“The most meaningful part for me was the students’ chance to view a piece of art right in their classroom that had been created locally in a collaboration of visual artists and storytellers,” said Cline.

The children and teachers were delighted to see and hear the work of artists and storytellers firsthand. The impact was evident as Cline noted that after they visited the classrooms, one student produced a story at home and later brought it to school for Cline to read during one of her next Read Aloud visits.

Cline also reads to fifth graders at Mabscott Elementary and said that after the art collaboration in those classrooms, several students and their families visited the Beckley Art Center for the first time.

Tamarack heard about this amazing community partnership and asked Debnam if the dolls exhibit could travel there for a special event on an October Sunday afternoon. The event included Read Aloud volunteers Cline and Baker reading the dolls’ stories to children in attendance.

“Partnering with other local organizations and initiatives allows Read Aloud to magnify our impact and engage more fully in the local community,” said Read Aloud West Virginia Executive Director Mary Kay Bond. “Our Raleigh County chapter has done an excellent job of building connections that serve our mission and the community well.”

Lesley McCallister is a Read Aloud supporter, volunteer and newsletter contributor and a freelance journalist.

Ross Foundation funds program support, technology upgrades

by DonorsNewsSupporters

By Melody Simpson

Many thanks go to The Ross Foundation, a family foundation operating in the Mid-Ohio Valley region, for its recent $44,000 grant to Read Aloud West Virginia! A portion of this grant is for sustaining (or starting) Read Aloud programs in Jackson, Pleasants and Wood counties; the balance is for upgrading Read Aloud’s database. Thanks to this grant, we are completing a significant upgrade to our database program which will enable us to better track and communicate with those who are so critical to our programs’ success—our donors, volunteer readers, county coordinators and many more.

It is somewhat unusual for donors to grant funds for operating costs like salaries and technology, but Tres Ross, executive director of The Ross Foundation, recognizes the value of this type of investment. Ross, who is also involved with the West Virginia Nonprofit Association and Philanthropy West Virginia, has broad experience with what makes nonprofits successful. “I know many funders are hesitant to support overhead,” Ross commented, but said he has come to realize that nonprofit organizations need financial resources to grow their programs, and things like quality staff and technology are critical to this success.

“Over the years,” Ross noted, “I realized that ‘what you get is what you pay for.’  If you want to grow an organization and have it become a key player in the community, then you need to pay for that quality staff to implement programs.” A Wall Street Journal article entitled, “Why Can’t We Sell Charity Like We Sell Perfume?” reinforced his thoughts on nonprofit funding needs.

In 2013, three leading sources of information about U.S. charities—BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, and GuideStar—jointly wrote an open letter to charitable donors called “The Overhead Myth.” After noting the tendency of donors to focus too much on the percentage of expenditures going toward administrative and fundraising costs when deciding which charities to support, they assert that many charities should actually spend more on overhead than they do, in areas such as training, planning, evaluation and internal systems to increase their charitable impact. The open letter includes some surprising statistics on the importance of spending on overhead, and the danger of underinvesting in the type of critical infrastructure that keeps a nonprofit healthy and successful. For more information on this joint letter, see http://overheadmyth.com/.

Read Aloud’s programs, and their success, depend on educating parents, teachers, school administrators, and businesses about the critical importance of modeling the joy of reading  to encourage children to want to learn to read.  They also depend on recruiting, training, supporting, retaining, and tracking volunteer readers across West Virginia, and on creating, training, supporting, retaining, and sustaining strong county chapters (currently 30 and counting). Our “output,” while including some tangible items like books to distribute, is largely reflected in intangibles:  Read Aloud conferences which reenergize county chapters and volunteers and help them share ideas; schools which welcome volunteer readers into their classrooms; trained volunteer readers who dependably show up each week to share their love of books; and ultimately, in more children learning, and loving, to read. All these may then be reflected in rising reading scores in schools and counties which have vibrant Read Aloud programs.  But none of this happens without mundane “overhead-type” investments—like upgraded database software.

The Ross Foundation “gets it.”  For this, we are exceedingly grateful.

Melody Simpson is an attorney at Bowles Rice LLP, a volunteer reader and a member of the Read Aloud West Virginia board and newsletter committee.

 

Read Aloud seeks Communications and Development Manager

by News

Read Aloud West Virginia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the literacy culture of West Virginia by keeping reading material in the hands and on the minds of our state’s children. Motivation is the critical first step in developing any skill and Read Aloud works to motivate children to WANT to read.  Our goal is to involve families, the medical community, businesses, civic groups and the society at large in cultivating a culture that places value on reading.

We seek a Communications and Development Manager to help grow our small, thriving nonprofit. This full-time staff member will report to our executive director and work closely with staff and volunteers to achieve Read Aloud West Virginia’s mission through exceptional communications and development performance.

The ideal candidate will be a proactive self-starter, with excellent communication/writing skills, and capacity to manage multiple projects simultaneously.  Although we will consider exceptional candidates without all the following qualifications, 2-3 years’ experience in a development or communications role is preferred.

Read Aloud West Virginia is an equal opportunity employer offering a flexible work environment and compensation commensurate with experience.

See the full job description here.

Read Aloud of Jackson County receives community grant

by Uncategorized

By Sara Busse

Two programs of the Jackson County Read Aloud chapter received a financial boost thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Jackson County Community Foundation. Snuggle and Read and Snak Pak will each benefit from the grant.

Snuggle and Read encourages families to read together, providing books and blankets so participants can experience the pleasure that a warm blanket and a great read can bring when shared with a child. Several of these well-received events have been held at elementary schools and county libraries in Jackson County and throughout the state. The grant money will be used to purchase books for Snuggle and Read. Blankets are provided by Constellium Corporation.

The Snak Pak program, according to Jackson County Read Aloud co-chair Lisa Bailey, is run by Parchment Valley Baptist Church, providing weekly snack packs to approximately 190 children who may need a little extra food during the weekends. Read Aloud is now adding the excitement of books.

“Mid-year last year, Read Aloud Jackson County started providing books with the snack packs on a once-a-month basis to the children so that they would also have their very own books to read,” Bailey said. “While we may have shelves of books at our own home, some homes have very few books or no books at all. We have been receiving positive feedback from the schools about how excited the kids are to pick out their monthly book. They can hardly wait!”

Read Aloud West Virginia helped complete the grant application and is purchasing the books for the programs.

Lea Ann Tuohy, of the book and movie The Blind Side fame, spoke on “Making a Difference in the Life of a Child” at the Jackson County Community Foundation dinner in October when the awards were granted, according to Jackson co-chair Janet McCauley.

“The inspiring story of Michael Orr, a homeless child who was taken in and nurtured by the Tuohys and who became an NFL standout, emphasized the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone to help others,” McCauley explained. Tuohy said she appreciated the connection with the work done by Read Aloud Jackson County.

McCauley said, “By providing both the Snuggle and Read project and the Snak Pak program with books, Jackson County Read Aloud is hoping to make a difference in the lives of many children. We were very pleased to be a recipient and that the monies have helped to meet our desire to get books in the hands of children.”

To get involved in the Jackson County Read Aloud chapter, contact McCauley at jkmccauley@suddenlink.net or Bailey at lisa.bailey@suddenlink.net.

Sara Busse is a long-time Charleston resident and community volunteer.

 

Read-A-Palooza 2017 celebrates 30 years of reading

by EventsRead-a-PaloozaSocial Media

It seems like everyone is talking about “The Greatest Generation” and “Generation Y” and “Gen X” lately. But Read Aloud West Virginia is celebrating Generation Read Aloud!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Read Aloud — 30 years of comprehensive, research-based and practice-proven programming throughout West Virginia.  You can help commemorate this special anniversary by attending Read-A-Palooza 2017 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on March 20 at Paterno’s at the Park in Charleston.

The event will feature the stories of children, now adults, who benefitted from the Read Aloud program in their early years. Many of those former students are now passing along their love of reading to their own children or as Read Aloud volunteers. Watch for some glimpses into these stories on social media throughout the upcoming weeks by following Read Aloud West Virginia on Facebook and @ReadAloudWV on Twitter.

Appetizers, drinks, a silent auction and great company will be the highlights of the evening.  Committee members, led by chairman Hayley Woodrum, are gathering items for the silent auction, finalizing menu items and planning a fun 80s-themed atmosphere for the evening. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Special thanks to the Signature Sponsors for Read-A-Palooza 2017, the Elliot Family Foundation and the BrickStreet Foundation. Their generous donation and other sponsorships and ticket sales will help continue the work of Read Aloud throughout the year and across the state.

Tickets for the annual fundraiser are $40 and can be purchased online or by calling 304-345-5212.