Book Distribution Fair

Recently, I found the following statistics which I find to be appalling:

Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3-4 times more likely to drop out in later years. National Adult Literacy Survey, (2002) NCES, United States Department of Education

According to the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 37 percent of fourth graders and 26 percent of eighth graders cannot read at the basic level; and on the 2002 NAEP 26 percent of twelfth graders cannot read at the basic level. That is, when reading grade appropriate text these students cannot extract the general meaning or make obvious connections between the text and their own experiences or make simple inferences from the text. In other words, they can not understand what they have read. National Assessment of Educational Progress

My mission is to ensure that these statics end immediately which is why I partnered with Reading Is Fundamental as a community organizer and formed Beginning the Journey.

The Beginning the Journey Chapter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is holding its first book distribution fair on June 14, 2008 at 7500 Maple Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912.

We are currently seeking donations to make this event successful. We need to raise $971.00 to cover the following costs:

Item:Cost: Books (432 for grades prek-9th including Spanish language) $716.30 Facility Rental $100.00 Event Promotion Literature $100.00 Miscellaneous (decorations, activities etc.) $55.00

Donations are appreciated in any amount that you can afford. No donation is too small for example a donation of 2.00 could purchase one book from our vendor (RIF discount applies) depending on the title and popular of the book. Donations can be made via cash or credit card payment using paypal by sending payment to rif.beginningthejourney@gmail.com Also if you prefer you can send a book(s) instead of a monetary donation…all that we ask is that it is new and appropriate for a child 0-18 years old.

Please consider making a donation to help our organization “build a literate nation, one child at a time.”

I thank you in advance for helping us eradicate illiteracy.

Sincerely,
Peta-Gay Lewis
Founder and Executive Director
Beginning the Journey Chapter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)