South Sound

READING FOUNDATION

South Sound Reading Foundation

The South Sound Reading Foundation aims to ensure that every child is read to 20 minutes a day starting at birth.

Reading just 20 minutes a day to young children is key to brain development, family bonding and success in school. Daily family reading helps children develop a larger vocabulary, a longer attention span and better listening skills.
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News and Events

CELEBRATE READING – 1st Mike Reads and prominent community leaders han

POSTED: March 7th 2008
 

LACEY, WA (March 7, 2008) Celebrate Reading on Tuesday, March 11, 2008!    From 10:30 to 11am First Mike, Washington’s First Gentleman, Mike Gregoire, will be reading to 62 Lydia Hawk 4th graders.  Reading Tree will then announce its Thurston County launch with a generous book distribution.  Each Lydia Hawk fourth grader will receive 2 free books.  Community Leaders will be on hand to help distribute books.  Reading Tree will also donate an additional 500 books to Lydia Hawk. 

 

“We are so excited that First Mike will be reading to our kids” says Lydia Hawks Principal Paula Quinn, “And we are very excited about the books”. 

“It’s great to see some of our most prominent community leaders promoting literacy” says South Sound Reading Foundation Director, Jennifer Forster.   Reading Tree/Thrift Recycling has also pledged to donate a minimum of 5,000 books a year to the foundation’s book van, book distribution program.

 

Community businesses participating in the book distribution include:   Timberland Bank, Anchor Bank, Bill Funk, Curves, City of Yelm, Thurston County Waste Management, Lacey QFC and Lacey Wal-Mart.   These community leaders have agreed to have a Reading Tree/Thrift Recycling book recycling bin at their business location.   Books collected through the bins go to schools and organizations like South Sound Reading Foundation, who work to ensure that there are books in every home.


WFWR 2008 food/book drive campaign seeks help from public agencies.

POSTED: March 7th 2008
The 2008 "Well Fed, Well Read" (WFWR) food and children's book drive campaign is again seeking help from public agency employees - at city, county and state levels - from April 1-15. The joint drive was spearheaded several years ago by the Washington Lottery, which continues to be an event sponsor."We need more agencies and more participation to better serve our community's hunger and literacy needs," said Robert Coit, the Executive Director of the Thurston County Food Bank. Canned fruit and protein rich canned food make the best donations. The WFWR drive also helps provide children's books for the community. "What started as a friendly little competition between state agencies has grown into a huge event where city, county and state agencies join together to address hunger and literacy in our community," said Jennifer Forster, South Sound Reading Foundation Executive Director. Agencies that collect the most food and books will be recognized at the WFWR booth at the Thurston County Public Service Recognition Week celebration on May 7 at the East Capitol Campus lawn in Olympia. Last year's drive included 23 state, county and city agencies that raised more than 34,000 pounds of food and 7,500 children's books, more than double the collections from the year before. The City of Lacey collected the most food (19,680 pounds) and Attorney General’s Office collected the most books (1549).   This year's drive goals will be 25,000 pounds of food and 5,000 books, but based on last year's results, those goals are sure to be met easily. If your agency wants to participate in 2008, contact the South Sound Reading Foundation, at (360) 412-4499 or email: read2me@nthurston.k12.wa.us.

new news!The Valley Athletic Club Collects over 450 books for South Sound K

POSTED: November 27th 2007
TUMWATER , WA (November 27, 2007)-- The Valley Athletic Club hosted its 7th annual “Thanks for Giving” Children’s Book Harvest during the Thanksgiving holidays to benefit the South Sound Reading Foundation.  460 new and gently-used children’s books were donated during the week of November 18th – 24th.  “This exceeded our goal of 200 and we are thrilled!   These books go to kids in our community who want or need a book.  For some this will be their only book” says Executive Director, Jennifer Forster.   Guests accompanied by Valley members were able to use the club free with the donation of at least two children’s books.  All guest fees during this time were also donated to the South Sound Reading Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes reading to children “20 minutes a day”.   “We have so many families at The Valley who value reading and want to support the community,” said Candace Hampton, Community Relations and Program Director for The Valley Athletic Club, which has been serving the community for more than 30 years.   Usborne Books also hosted a Book Fair at The Valley to support the Reading Foundation.  They donated over $800 to purchase new Usborne books.  “This is so exciting.  This money will allow us to purchase a lot of high quality new board books for babies and toddlers, and this is our greatest need” says Book Inventory Coordinators Karen Lewis and Carol Reaves.  

THE NUMBERS ARE IN… FOURTH ANNUAL ‘GRAND SLAM' BOOK DRIVE WAS A HUGE SU

POSTED: November 19th 2007

LACEY, WA (November 16 , 2007)  – South Sound students collected over 12,200 children’s books during the South Sound Reading Foundation’s Fourth Annual Grand Slam Book Drive.  As a reward for collecting the most new and gently used books, Peter G. Schmidt students will be visited by the Mariner Moose for a Grand Slam Literacy Assembly. “They collected over 4,500 books” said Jennifer Forster, Executive Director for South Sound Reading Foundation. “That’s outstanding!”

 

“There is power in kids being connected to something bigger than they are,” says Peter G. Schmidt Principal, Jack Arend.  “The book drive is one of the ways our students feel connected to our school and our community.  And Teresa Crawford (the 5th grade teacher who coordinated the book

drive for Peter G. Schmidt) fosters this idea and a philanthropic heart in all of us here.”  The second place school was South Bay Elementary which collected over 2,400 books.   Other participating schools include: Lincoln Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Jefferson Middle School, Reeves Middle School, Washington Middle School, East Olympia Elementary, George Washington Bush Middle School, Tumwater High School, Horizons Elementary, Lacey Elementary, Olympic View, Timberline High School, Lakamas Elementary, McKenna Elementary, Rochester Primary, Rochester Middle School, and the Griffin School. 

Holiday Book Drive

POSTED: November 6th 2007

Barnes and Noble is hosting a Holiday Book Drive beginning in November.  Patrons can purchase new books for the South Sound Reading Foundation.   These books are given to South Sound children who want or need a book.  For some this will be their only book, so please encourage friends and neighbors to participate in this worthwhile project.