This school year was a BIG deal in my home! My oldest daughter started Kindergarten! She absolutely could not wait to be a “big girl” and sit down with her very first Kindergarten reader. While she did really well with letter sounds and letter recognition in Pre-K, I would not say that she was a full blown reader just yet. But already, in just the first month, she has started blending sounds and reading her first books. The look on her face when she completes each page is pure joy.
Because I believe every child should be given the chance to experience the joy of reading, I was so happy to have the opportunity to partner with Nestle and the Reading in Fundamental program. The RIF program is the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization which provides many services for America’s youth. Literacy starts early and the RIF Shared Beginnings program teaches young parents the importance of reading aloud to their children. Another program, Books for Ownership, motivates children to read by providing books they can select and take home free of charge. The RIF Organization also encourages parents to lead by example through the Family of Readers program. Parents are asked to share quality time with their kids by talking about their favorite books and sharing their love of reading.
Nestle has partnered with the RIF Organization to help distribute millions of books to elementary schools across the country and now asked me to take part as well! I was excited to share my own love of reading by hosting a “Happy New School Year” party at my home to spread the word about Reading is Fundamental.
On September 11th, I hosted a party for friends, family members and kids to come to my home and learn about this great program (while feasting on some Nestle goodies, of course!). Each guest was invited to bring a new or gently used book to the party to donate to a local RIF school. In addition to this donation, Nestle shipped $350 worth of children’s books themed around nutrition to my home in order for me to research and choose a local school in which to donate them.
While my guests checked out the books, donated their own and ate some yummy goodies (the Nestle Toll House cookies were a HIT), I discussed with my guests the donation locations we could choose from. Because my area was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina, we decided to donate to a local school that was destroyed during the Storm and is still in the process of rebuilding. After we picked the location, I held a raffle for the guests that brought a book to donate. The winner received a Nestle lunchbox filled with coupons and an Amazon gift card!
It was really great to get together with my family and friends and work together for a great cause. Everyone was really involved in selecting a school and I can’t wait to show you which one we chose in my next post! Thanks so much to Nestle and Reading is Fundamental for providing the goodies and books that will make such a difference to a school in my area.