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.

Book Review: The Poet’s Dog, a book for the ages

by Book Reviews and RecommendationsBooks

Reviewed by Jennie Fitzkee

“Dogs speak words. But only poets and children hear.”

Those are the opening words in Patricia MacLachlan’s new book, The Poet’s Dog.  I have read the book twice, because there are many words not to be missed, words that are pure and don’t need added adjectives and text. MacLachlan’s writing stands alone in a field of masterful literature. Her 88 pages are some of the best I have ever read. In the words of the publisher: “Alone in a fierce winter storm, Nickel and Flora are brave but afraid. A dog finds them. Teddy speaks words and brings them to shelter. The poet’s cabin has light and food and love. But where is the poet?  Teddy will tell the story of how words make poems and connect to those who hear each other.”

Sylvan the poet constantly reads to Teddy. He reads Yeats and Shakespeare. He also reads Charlotte’s Web, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Ox Cart Man. Teddy learns how words follow one another.

I had no idea that Ox Cart Man, one of my favorite children’s books, is actually a poem. I scrambled to find my copy and read the words again, this time seeing the words for what they are meant to be—a poem. When I read the book again to my preschoolers this month, it will be more beautiful than ever.

The Poet’s Dog is a story of adventure, survival, love and friendship, of death, reading and poetry. The beginning is a fishing line that hooks the reader, and the ocean opens to… well, you will have to read the book. The ending is as surprising as ever.

I told a friend and fellow teacher about The Poet’s Dog and quoted to her the first lines, “Dogs speak words. But only poets and children hear.”

Our conversation went something like this:

“I hear my cat.  I know what she’s saying.”

“Then you must be either a child or a poet.”

“I’m a child. My heart is always a child. And I love poetry.”

She smiled a knowing smile. I did, too.

Jennie Fitzkee, a West Virginia native who lives in Massachusetts, has been teaching and reading to preschoolers for 30 years. Her blog, A Teacher’s Reflections, chronicles lessons that extend far beyond the classroom.

CAMC grant connects literacy, health

by DonorsSupporters

Many thanks to Charleston Area Medical Center for their recent contribution of $500 to Read Aloud West Virginia. CAMC knows that health literacy is not possible without good reading skills and that we must work to raise children who can manage their own health well. Read Aloud’s work plays an important role in the health of our communities and we are happy that CAMC acknowledged that relationship in this way!

 

Read Aloud’s reach expands to 30 counties

by Chapters

By Lesley McCullough McCallister

Read Aloud West Virginia was thrilled to add two more counties to its active roster during the fall of 2016 with the formation of chapters in Grant and Ohio counties.

New Read Aloud volunteers in these two counties join those already serving in 28 additional West Virginia counties, all striving to motivate the next generation of West Virginians to want to read.

According to Vanessa Harlow, director of Elementary Education and Federal Programs for Grant County Schools and Grant County chapter president, their chapter already has 30 readers actively serving 35 classrooms in three Grant County elementary schools. Harlow noted the important role Read Aloud West Virginia plays by encouraging community involvement to promote a love of reading to students.

Ohio County Read Aloud Board President Melanie Riddle noted her chapter began meeting monthly this fall and plans to train their first set of volunteers this spring.

“The addition of chapters in Grant and Ohio counties brings Read Aloud’s presence in West Virginia to 30 counties in our 30th year,” said Read Aloud West Virginia Executive Director Mary Kay Bond. “It’s an exciting milestone! We are extremely grateful to Vanessa and Melanie for their efforts and leadership.”

For more information about starting a new chapter in a West Virginia county not being served currently by Read Aloud, please contact the Read Aloud office at (304) 345-5212 or readaloud@frontier.com.

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

Read Aloud WV Awarded NIP Tax Credits

by DonorsNews

Read Aloud West Virginia has been awarded tax credits through the West Virginia Neighborhood Investment Program (NIP). These credits are available to Read Aloud donors who make a contribution of $500 or more.

The organization receives a limited number of credits which are available to donors on a first come, first served basis. Contact Communications and Development Director Lynn Kessler at lkessler@readaloudwestvirginia.org or (304) 345-5212 to make a donation, mail your contribution to PO Box 1784, Charleston, WV 25326 or donate online today.

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It’s Giving Tuesday: Give the Gift of Reading!

by DonorsNewsSocial MediaSupporters

This year, on Tuesday, November 29, 2016, Read Aloud West Virginia is participating in #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving.

Last year, more than 45,000 organizations in 71 countries came together to celebrate #GivingTuesday. Since its founding in 2012, #GivingTuesday has inspired giving around the world, resulting in greater donations, volunteer hours, and activities that bring about real change in communities. We invite you to join the movement and to help get out and give this November 29 and beyond.

Here are some ways you can get involved:

How are YOU giving this #GivingTuesday?

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Raising readers: impact, nostalgia intertwine in new campaign

by DonorsNewsSupporters

By Sara Busse

The year was 1986. A small cadre of volunteers, arms filled with children’s books, made their way into grade schools in Charleston, ready to share their passion for reading. Little did they know the impact they would have on generations of young students.

The year is 2016. Read Aloud is in 29 counties, with hopes of spreading statewide. And those original little listeners are all grown up and reading to their children today.

Generation Read Aloud.

That theme kicks off the 2016-2017 Annual Fund campaign and will run throughout the year as the organization expands, reflects, encourages and, yes, reads.

“In this digital age, it is encouraging to hear that something as simple as a story, read aloud by an enthusiastic adult, can make a lasting impression on a child,” explained Lynn Kessler, communications and development director for Read Aloud. “We often hear stories from today’s readers about how they were influenced by Read Aloud volunteers when they were in school.”

Efforts are underway to find “grown-ups” who have fond memories of Read Aloud in their childhood classrooms. These memories will be shared throughout the winter and at Read-A-Palooza, the organization’s annual spring fundraising event. Here are a few of the stories we’ve collected from those early years in Kanawha County; we’re looking forward to hearing many more memories from across the state!

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Emilie Doty Love, mortgage lender, United Bank, remembers hearing Moby Dick as a child in a classroom at Holz Elementary.

I loved being read to, and it was even when I was in third grade!” Emilie said. She’s passed along her love of reading to her four sons and is now a regular reader at Overbrook Elementary in Charleston.

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Haley Santmyer, a teacher at Sacred Heart Grade School, remembers parents coming to read when she was a student at the school. She now shares many of those books with her second grade students.

“Having been read to as a child, I can honestly say that it helped me to become the adult reader that I am today,” Haley explained. “My love for reading developed at an early age from being surrounded by a multitude of books. Parent volunteers would come in once a week for Read Aloud at our school. I always looked forward to the Read Aloud days and loved the many different books and authors that we read. As a teacher, many of the books in my classroom library are books that were read to me in my elementary years. I hope these books will have the same effect on my students that they had on me at their age.

“When I think back to my first Read Aloud experiences the first story that pops into my head is Bony Legs by Joanna Cole. The aide in our kindergarten class would turn off the lights and read the whole book with a witch’s voice, then at the end she would scare us. We would laugh and scream and beg her to read it again,” Haley remembers. Other books she enjoyed as a child include We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel, The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble and Holes by Louis Sachar.

As a teacher, Haley sees the value of Read Aloud.

“Read Aloud encourages students to read more and can often be that child’s only exposure to literature. Without Read Aloud volunteers, many children would never be exposed to books that not only teach a valuable lesson but also expose children to [new] words and expressions,” she explained.

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Claire Barth, sales associate for West Virginia Commercial in Charleston, fondly recalls Read Aloud at Kenna Elementary. “I always looked forward to Read Aloud in elementary school,” Claire said enthusiastically. “It was a weekly highlight. My favorite was when my mom would come in to volunteer. She always read Junie B. Jones books. I still remember the first line of every book. She always made it fun, which to me is the most important part. Read Aloud makes reading fun.”

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If you grew up with a Read Aloud volunteer in your elementary school classroom, we want to hear your story! Did it influence you to become a reader? Do you recall which books made an impact or which ones were just fun to hear? Send your memories to Lynn Kessler, lkessler@readaloudwestvirginia.org.

Sara Busse is a long-time Charleston resident and community volunteer. Her work at Trinity’s Table earned her recognition as a 2016 YWCA Woman of Achievement.

 

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“A perfect fit” – Books-A-Million stores support Read Aloud statewide Oct. 8

by BooksChaptersEventsNewsPartners

By Melody Simpson

PLEASE! On Saturday, Oct. 8, go to your local Books-A-Million store in West Virginia and buy some books! (Or toys, tech, or more, to borrow from their logo, although we strongly lean toward books.) And when asked if you would like the store to donate a percentage of your purchase to Read Aloud, say “YES!”

Last year, Raleigh County Read Aloud connected with its local Books-A-Million store for a book fair in support of Read Aloud West Virginia. The event was the brainchild of Anne-Marie Johnson, the store’s general manager and a Raleigh County Read Aloud board member. Believing that BAM and Read Aloud were a “perfect fit,” Johnson hoped to expand her local effort into an ongoing, statewide partnership.

That partnership is blossoming. Ed Reidy, regional manager for Books-A-Million, agreed to have all BAM stores in his region host an event for Read Aloud (with participation from the Martinsburg store, thanks to manager Scott Brown). Between 10 and 20 percent of each designated purchase will be donated by BAM to Read Aloud West Virginia. Local Read Aloud chapters will have volunteers at store locations during the full-day event, with information about Read Aloud and its programs.

“An event like this is a complete win-win for Books-A-Million and Read Aloud,” Reidy noted. “Both of us want a literate, book-loving citizenry, and this is a great way for us to reach out to customers and a local philanthropic organization in our community.” Reidy hopes this is only the first in what becomes a regular statewide fundraising event for Read Aloud in BAM stores.

So bring your children, your grandchildren, your neighbor’s kids, the soccer team after the game—heck, bring your inner child!—and browse the shelves at your local Books-A-Million. You’ll be happy, your local Books-A-Million store will be happy, and Read Aloud West Virginia will be happy—and very grateful for your support.

Anne-Marie Johnson should be pretty happy, too….

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

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