In 11 schools this year, Read Aloud WV tried a new program we’ve become really excited about. We distributed “Book Bundles” on a child’s favorite subject primarily to elementary school students. Each bundle contains five books on a subject the student choose earlier. These ranged from basketball, to pets, dance, reptiles, sharks, and more. This research-informed method motivates children to WANT to read, because motivation is the first step in developing any skill. Book Bundles help grow a child’s background knowledge and drives reading comprehension.
Students build fluency and confidence as they comb through their easier books. Knowledge gained there helps them to read more difficult books. Reading multiple texts on the same subject increases reading proficiency four times faster than other methods, according to the WV Department of Education. Book Bundles also build anticipation around reading. Even some of our most seasoned volunteers were even impressed by the level of excitement in the classrooms on unwrapping day.
More than 2,000 books were distributed through Book Bundles this past school year. We will be distributing more Book Bundles this coming school year based on the program’s success. Classrooms that are enrolled with Read Aloud WV are eligible to receive Book Bundles and other book distributions.
A special thanks to our funders for this program: the Bernard McDonough Foundation, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and the Arthur and Joan Weisberg Family Foundation.
Read Aloud WV donated baby board books to Big Creek People in Action, a hard-working nonprofit in Caretta, McDowell County, for a community baby shower Memorial Day Weekend. Over 100 families received books, diapers, toys, informational material, and more, thanks to many regional businesses and community organizations.
Read Aloud WV and the Charleston Dirty Birds partnered in May to send hundreds of young readers home with a new book to enjoy this summer as they headed into break. They also witnessed an extra-innings walk-off win by the Dirty Birds!
It was an exciting experience for everyone. We want to thank the Dirty Birds for their commitment to our community and helping grow childhood literacy in West Virginia.
NIP credits for gifts of $500 or more, while supplies last
You qualify forNeighborhood Investment Program tax credits if you:
— Pay income taxes in West Virginia, or
— Pay corporate net income taxes in West Virginia, and
— Donate $500 or more to Read Aloud West Virginia.
Taxpayers can use this credit even if they don’t itemize on federal or state income tax returns.
It works like this:
1. Send a donation of $500 or more to a qualifying organization, such as Read Aloud WV.
2. Read Aloud sends you a voucher for as much as half the gift amount. At tax time, turn in the voucher to reduce your WV tax bill by that amount.Taxpayers may use all or part of the credits. They have five years to use all the credits.
A larger gift qualifies for a larger credit. So, a $1,000 donation gets $500 in tax credits. A $5,000 gift qualifies for $2,500 off your taxes, and so on.
The maximum tax credit allowed in any one year is $100,000. Donors cannot reduce their total state tax bill by more than 50 percent.
NIP credits are administered by the state to encourage donations to local nonprofits. All credits must be distributed by March 2024. Credits are limited, so the sooner you secure yours, the better.
Every dollar donated to Read Aloud results in more time spent sending volunteer readers into classrooms to motivate children to read for fun, or giving kids happy, choice-filled book distributions.
As little as $100 can fund books for an entire classroom, while $1,100 can fund a month of Books for Babies, providinga new book for all babies born at Women and Children’s Hospital, CAMC, for example.
To donate at this time of year, it is best to call 304-345-5212 to verify that NIP credits are still available. Then, you may:
Mail a check to Read Aloud WV, PO Box 1784, Charleston, WV 25326 (the most cost-effective method).
Transfer stock.Call 304-345-5212 or email dmiller@readaloudwv.orgfor more details. Read Aloud’s DTC number is 0141.
Direct a retirement account distributionto Read Aloud WV. If it comes straight from your financial institution, even a disbursement from a tax-deferred plan may not incur federal taxes, and it will also qualify for NIP tax credits. Call or email if you have questions.
Gifts made after Jan. 1, 2024 work the same way, except that taxpayers may applytheir credits starting with taxes due for the 2024 tax year.
This past summer, we broke 100,000 books given to West Virginia students and families since the establishment of our database in 2016. Currently, we are up to 107,395 books distributed. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of local volunteer chapters across the state and partnerships with 147 schools, helping to put our books in the hands of their students.
One of many such partnerships is with Madison Elementary School in Wood County. There, Assistant Principal Cindy Oxender is in annual contact with our state office, requesting books and coordinating their transportation from Kanawha to Wood County.
This fall, we gave them 305 assorted books for a Halloween distribution event.
Madison Elementary students enjoy their new books.
Oxender took the traceable letter books we provided to Kindergarten with a mini-lesson on how to use them and where to write their name on the bookplate on each book.
One little girl exclaimed, “It is good you told us about this because my mom told me never to write in books!”
It came out later that most of this child’s books at home come from the library, and she does not have many books that are hers personally. She was so excited to have a new book of her very own, and writing her name inside reinforced that pride of ownership and positive connection to reading. This is why we include bookplates in every book we distribute.
Many children experience barriers to owning their own books, like this child, despite the fact that research clearly shows a link between book ownership and reading achievement. That’s why free, choice-based book distribution programs like ours are essential to serving the literacy needs of West Virginia students. Children need access to books they’re interested in if they are to build their reading skills independently and become lifelong learners.
Students at four schools received some new, special books to enjoy over the summer while they are away from the classroom.
This year, Read Aloud West Virginia offered its Summer Book Binge to schools in Greenbrier, Jackson, and Kanawha counties. The program is based on a Tennessee study showing that giving children about half a dozen freely chosen, high-interest books prevents summer learning loss better than summer school.
A Crichton Elementary student receives his “Binge on Books” tote bag filled with books to read over the summer.
In Greenbrier County, Crichton Elementary students from preschool through fifth grade browsed a sample set of books this spring. Teachers were encouraged to help students find books they would enjoy. Students were able to hold and examine the books before filling out their order forms.
Students received their books at a Memorial Day assembly after a ceremony to honor students’ accomplishments and local veterans.
“It was a moving and reverent ceremony recognizing veterans in the Quinwood community,” said Read Aloud Executive Director Dawn Miller. “The parents’ and grandparents’ presence really shows students that the time they spend reading is important and valued. And it is always good for adults to be reminded what an important influence they are.”
Students walked up one at a time and received a blue Read Aloud tote bag containing their specially chosen books, each plated with the child’s name, an important feature of the project stressing book ownership.
The process was repeated in other schools. In Jackson County that same week, the Jackson County Community Foundation, which funded the project, dressed the Gilmore Elementary School assembly room with festive beach accessories, highlighting the fun, buoyant atmosphere of summer reading.
Jackson County Community Foundation Executive Director Misty Hamon put together a colorful balloon arch for students to walk through as their names were called to receive their personalized Read Aloud book bags.
About 150 third- through fifth-graders at Gilmore and Cottageville Elementary, like their peers in the other counties, browsed sample books ahead of time and chose six books they wanted for the summer, then walked up one at a time to receive their special order.
“We’ve had so much support from the Community Foundation,” said Read Aloud of Jackson County Chapter President Janet McCauley.
“The Foundation really made this book distribution into a special event for these kids,” Miller added, “exactly the message kids need to get from the adults around them.”
A festive balloon arch and beach-themed decorations courtesy of the Jackson Community Foundation for the Book Binge assembly at Gilmore Elementary.
“‘I got all the books I wanted!’” McCauley recalled hearing more than one student say. “The kids were so excited and pleased to get their books. It was so, so personalized for them. If they choose their own books, they’re more likely to read them.”
The summer reading fun didn’t stop there, however.
“The state office [Read Aloud West Virginia] are very frugal and are able to order some of their books from their distributors for cheaper than they expected, and get extra copies,” McCauley shared. In this instance, that frugality led to “leftovers,” or extra copies that McCauley was able to present at other schools throughout Jackson County.
“All of the leftover books have been distributed in the county,” McCauley said. “I guess you could call it a book tasting or a mini book binge.”
McCauley distributed the leftover copies at elementary schools in Fairplain, Evans, Kenna, and Ripley. Students were able to pick three books of their own.
“Read Aloud is so good at stretching their money, and other students were able to benefit from the leftovers,” McCauley said.
At Chesapeake Elementary School in Kanawha County, preschoolers through fifth grade followed a similar process, thanks to a grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. At an assembly at the end of the school year, students applauded each child as their name was called to receive their books. That distribution is part of a larger project with Chesapeake that will include another book give away in the fall.
By preventing summer learning loss, Read Aloud helps students to succeed in school and throughout life. Researchers have documented that children who are not exposed to enjoyable books and other summer learning opportunities will lose reading skill during the summer. They gain again when they go back to school, but over time these losses accumulate, so that by 12th grade, children can be a year or more behind their peers and their potential in reading skill, which affects everything else – including school and job prospects.
Giving children books that they are motivated to read during the summer prevents this summer learning loss. As children spend time with books, they practice skills they learned in school. They also build vocabulary and background knowledge, an important ingredient in reading comprehension at any age. They also discover that they enjoy it.
Read Aloud’s first Summer Book Binge was held at Crichton Elementary School in 2016, and within two years, reading scores there rose noticeably, exactly as the Tennessee research predicted.
Read Aloud West Virginia will be looking for opportunities to introduce the Summer Book Binge into other schools across the state in the coming year.
Kristen LeFevers is a graduate of Marshall University and lives in Huntington.
by Dr. Mary Boyd, Randolph County Chapter President
Since 2018, Read Aloud Randolph County has been putting brand new books in backpacks for children who qualify for the food program that works out of First United Methodist Church in Elkins. Kids get the backpacks once a week, and the books are put in the backpacks once a month.
Mary Boyd sorting books in May 2022 at First United Methodist Church.
We started this program back in 2018 when I went to a Read Aloud West Virginia conference where many ideas are shared by other counties. Jackson County has a very active Read Aloud program, and they had been putting books in backpacks. I brought the idea back to our board, and it just seemed to resonate with the other folks on the board, so we started looking for ways to pay for it.
With lots of help from Read Aloud West Virginia, we got grants from both the Tucker Community Foundation and the Snowshoe Foundation to get us started. The state people thought getting grants locally was a good idea, and it worked. The money helped us get brand new books with nameplates, so the kids can take ownership of the books. Also, the kids get to choose the books, so they can get what they are interested in.
The program was put on hold in 2020, but in late 2021, the church started the food program back again, so the kids got books in February, March, April, and May of 2022. Since the county chapter did not apply for grants while the program was on hold, Read Aloud West Virginia provided the books from their stock made possible by community contributions and support. Participating schools have been Jennings Randolph, Midland, North, Third Ward, Elkins Middle and High School, Coalton, George Ward, Tygarts Valley, and Harman.
Randolph volunteer Judie Smith’s vehicle filled with books that she transported from Charleston.
Read Aloud West Virginia started in Kanawha County in 1986 with the mission of motivating children to read for fun, helping them become better readers. For many years, the organization was led by Mary Kay Bond as Executive Director. Currently, it operates in 46 counties, with 29 local volunteer chapters. The state Read Aloud office is based in Charleston, where current Executive Director Dawn Miller and other Read Aloud staff make possible projects like this one across the state.
Read Aloud WV did not shut down during the pandemic – it evolved to continue serving students! Over 26,800 books were given out in 2021, a new organizational record for annual book distribution. Read Aloud is on track to break 100,000 books given by the end of 2022, and the Randolph County backpack program will be part of that achievement.
“We hope we can continue with this wonderful program. We love putting books into the hands of kids and ideas into their heads,” says Dr. Boyd.
Reading has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was a child. When I found out that I was pregnant with my first baby, I went to the book store and purchased The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, along with several other stacks of children’s books. I dreamed of reading to my kids and watching their imaginations run wild. I dreamed that my children would love reading just as much as I do. Imagine my surprise when that wasn’t the case with my second son.
My first son took to books like a fish to water. My second son taught himself to read at age four and was addicted to being read stories. By the time he was five and a half, he refused to read. I bought different styles of books to try to tempt him. Countless bribes and different approaches later – nothing. I couldn’t figure him out! We were both frustrated, and I was running out of ideas to engage him.
I stumbled across Read Aloud West Virginia’s Read Aloud Families and I was cautiously optimistic. I knew my oldest and youngest children would adore it. What would my middle son think? I knew he was a going to be a good reader, but the problem was how to motivate him to care.
Solo: A Star Wars Story – Train Heist, the book that unlocked independent reading enthusiasm for Jackie Britton’s middle child, who participated in Read Aloud Families, a special distribution effort launched during the COVID shutdown.
The first order form came, and all three of my children were excited. They picked their books, and my middle child shocked me. He picked a Star Wars book. He has never seen the movies or shown any interest in Star Wars at all. I was so skeptical. I asked if he was certain he wanted that one and read a few other book descriptions to him.
No. He was positive he wanted that one.
The day the first shipment arrived, the three kids crowded around me and squealed over their new books. My oldest ran off to begin his, and I read my youngest child’s book to her and my middle son. Afterward, I watched what he would do with his new book. He curled up in a chair and began flipping through the pages.
After a little while, he started from the beginning and began to read quietly. I joined him and we took turns reading pages and continued to do the same with those first few book deliveries. Soon he was able to read them all on his own.
Every time there was a Star Wars book on the form, he would choose it. He began to choose other genres I would have never expected. The variety of the books on the order form was wonderful. He always found something to look forward to and having good experiences with these books has changed his attitude about new story lines.
Read Aloud West Virginia helped me find the key to turn my son from the most reluctant reader into an enthusiast. Now he is engaged during Book Tastings and can’t wait for library day at school. I am so grateful!
The phrase ‘the book will find the child’ holds true for the partnership of Jackson County Early Explorers and Read Aloud of Jackson County.
Cheryl Miller, a longtime Read Aloud volunteer and force behind the county’s Snuggle and Read program, has seen firsthand how impactful the experience can be for young readers.
A Jackson County student visits the Read, Play, Grow station at Cedar Lakes to get an Early Explorers book bag.
“When we were able to have that type of story time, the children picked out the book that appealed to them, one that ‘found’ them that they could take home, along with a blanket provided by Constellium,” she said. “It was so precious seeing that connection.”
It was frustrating not being able to have that family reading time with children and their parents during the pandemic. Miller, who co-founded Jackson County Early Explorers with Jessica Isner, also saw the hugely popular Early Explorers program for young children struggling to be active during COVID-19.
“One day, I had a preschooler come up to me, out of the blue, and beg me to read him a story,” said Miller. “I knew right then, and Jessica agreed, that we had to do something to meet this need.”
A natural collaboration between the county’s Read Aloud program and Early Explorers was formed, initially with books that were left over from a past Snuggle and Read. These, along with a blanket, would be put in book bags for children to find at the Read, Play, and Grow station at Cedar Lakes.
“With our mission and knowing how popular Early Explorers past book bag distributions were,” said Janet McCauley, president of the local Read Aloud board, “it was a win-win partnership.”
McCauley said the concern that children would not get ‘their’ book was quickly dispelled.
“The very first child who picked up a packet said ‘oh that’s just what I wanted’, so we knew we’d done our job,” she said.
But still for Miller there was something missing.
“I had another child come up and grab me by the legs and beg for a story,” she said. “It hurt my heart that I couldn’t do that.”
Miller said she couldn’t get the idea of children not getting their bedtime story out of her mind.
“In this pandemic, we forget that children are hurting and feeling stressed,” she said. “They need a time to settle down and feel loved and safe.”
That child hungering for a story planted the seed for Bedtime Book Club.
Each Monday at 6 pm, Miller posts a story time on Facebook. It can be accessed at any time by going on to the Jackson County Early Explorers or Read Aloud Jackson County page.
“First we get the wiggles out, then settle down for three stories.” Miller said.
The “Story Lady” as Miller has been dubbed, has already gotten a large following, including a grumpy cat who comes out of hiding every time he hears her voice.
Knowing that children look forward to each week’s story means so much to Miller.
“I had a little girl come up to me just to share how much she loved the little duck story I read the other night,” she said. McCauley said parents have also expressed their appreciation for the efforts of both Early Explorers and Read Aloud.
“They tell us that their children are hurrying in from outside play to read their books,” she said. “Several have said they hear their children singing or reciting phrases from their favorite stories.”
For Miller and McCauley, that’s what it’s all about, connecting children to books and instilling a love that can last a lifetime.
Suzette Lowe serves on the Read Aloud of Jackson County board
All year, Read Aloud chapters around the state have adapted and adapted again to best serve children, families and schools as conditions have changed. Volunteers read online when possible, by recording when desired, and ramped up book distributions. They handed out books with meals, at special drive-through events and increasingly, as schools have re-opened, first to students, then to guests, at more traditional in-person events.
Many volunteers have expressed interest in reading at programs this summer, they miss their classes so much. We are taking requests from summer programs and matching them with eager volunteer readers. (To arrange yours, contact your local chapter or email stateoffice@readaloudwv.org.)
While readers were cut off from their classrooms and students were cut off from their classroom libraries, Read Aloud doubled up on its usual book distribution efforts. In a good year, Read Aloud gives away 10,000 books and magazines to children around the state. Since Jan. 1, 2020 to this spring, Read Aloud has given out more than 25,000.
As regular volunteers know, Read Aloud is particular in how it gives out books. All of Read Aloud’s efforts emphasize choice because choice is an important factor in motivating children to read for pleasure, just as it is important to adults.
With the restrictions of the past year, volunteers sought and found new ways to engage students, to ask, “What are you reading?”
We adapted classroom “book tastings” where students get to discuss and recommend books. They, their teachers and volunteers may read excerpts. After a chance to “taste” a variety of books, children choose a book to keep.
Thanks to a windfall of books for middle- and high schoolers, we were able to offer a school wide book tasting at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. You can read the details on page 1.
Teachers and volunteers adapted events to their particular needs.
In Jackson County, Chapter President Janet McCauley organized half a dozen classroom book tastings in elementary schools. Teachers in those classrooms chose to lead the events themselves, sampling and reading books with children, and then giving students the opportunity to choose their books.
Just recently, Alban Elementary teacher Allison Stephens and her colleagues invited Kanawha Chapter President Derek Hudson and me to virtually attend their in-person classroom book tastings. Teachers gave children opportunities to preview the books. During the event, the children recommended books to us and to each other. When there was a lull, which was not often, Derek and I were available to build on the conversation about Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems, or The Lost Dinosaur Bone by Mercer Mayer, for example. It was a good time.
Berkeley County reader and chapter member Casey Willson and Kanawha County reader Jackie Thompson both tried a different approach, a “read along.” Every student in their classes one week received a copy of the book they read virtually.
Whatever the approach, all of these efforts give children opportunities to practice what they are learning, to find the words to express their thoughts, and to make connections with each other and with caring adults.
Even when they don’t admit it, children, even teens, are influenced by the adults who care for them. That means if parents, grandparents, teachers, and other mentors make time to discover good things to read and share their discoveries, young people will be influenced.
We will continue the stepped-up book distributions, because nothing beats summer learning loss like reading books for fun.
Looking ahead to fall, we are hopeful that schools will be able to welcome volunteer readers back to their classrooms. We are eager to be there, and plan to adapt to whatever the next normal is.
