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Community Service
ROAR
[excerpted from Felice Karlitz's letter to community members, dated January, 2007]
This year we are doing something a little different. We had hoped to donate books to our new partner school, Escuela General Pintag, in Ecuador, however logistically, this was not possible. After talking with the Peace Corps volunteer stationed there, we realized that the school and its children would benefit most from a cash donation. We have committed a portion of the funds raised by ROAR to that purpose. We also wanted to keep the connection between our reading and donating books to other children, and so we have also committed to donating a library of children’s books to the Saratoga Domestic Violence Services Center (our students know this as Saratoga Family Shelter).
About the Book Gift Matching Fund
When a book or story is completed, whether at home or in school, the number of pages read are logged in to our school wide total. Each page is matched by a penny from a fund made up of contributions by parents, relatives and community members. At the end of the year, we “withdraw” the matching money to purchase children’s books for a local non-profit organization.
In the past, we have donated to the Double H Ranch, Saratoga Hospital, Center for the Family, and the Franklin Community Center.
In this, the 6th year of our ROAR program, something amazing happened. We began the year with a goal of reading 60,000 pages (10,000 more than last year) by June. In December we found we were close to meeting our goal! The children did some mathematical calculations, figured the average pages read per month, how many months left to the school year, and then took into consideration how much more they wanted to challenge themselves, and set a new goal. Their present goal is to collectively read 200,000 pages by the end of June. The monetary match was adjusted to 1 penny per 2 pages, which would create a matching fund of $1,000. We will obtain $500 worth of books through our Scholastic Book Club points to donate to the Saratoga Family Shelter, and hope to raise at least $500 to send to the students in Escuela General Pintag.
The students have raised the bar high for their reading/community service goals. We are asking our parents to partner with the children in this effort by helping us to raise the matching fund that will enable them to see the positive results of their efforts.
Any contribution you can make to this fund, no matter how small, ($5.00 sponsors 1,000 pages!) will be greatly appreciated.
[end excerpt]
For more information or to support our matching fund, please email us at info@siskids.org.
