Posts tagged: Fundraising

Read Aloud West Virginia has launched its 2024 BookBaby Snap-bottom Shirt campaign as both a fundraiser and reminder of the value of reading to children. 

Baby shirts are available for purchase here: https://www.bonfire.com/2024-bookbaby-onesie-1/ 

The cotton baby shirt featuring a design by Charleston artist Brenda Pinnell of HepCatz Design, makes an ideal gift. Proceeds support Read Aloud WV. 

Research shows that children who connect reading with pleasure and have access to print books read more and become more proficient readers. The habit starts early as parents and caregivers read to babies. 

“Singing, rhyming words, naming things, and reading books to children all help prepare children to read by school age,” said Read Aloud Executive Director Dawn Miller. “It‘s astonishing sometimes how beneficial just reading for fun can be.” 

Neuroscientists have found that reading to children causes the brain to establish networks of brain cells that are used later when children learn to sound out words. Researchers have also found that the vocabulary and background knowledge that children learn from listening to stories is one of the most important factors in reading comprehension later. 

“A Read Aloud onesie is a nice, gentle reminder of creating healthy reading habits,” Miller said. “You can hang the sign right on the baby’s belly. Also, you can never have too many onesies. 

“We hope grandparents, aunts, and uncles like the shirts as gifts,” Miller said. “By giving a shirt to a future reader in the family, they are spreading the word about the importance of reading to kids, and at the same time supporting Read Aloud in helping kids all over West Virginia discover pleasure in reading.” 

Read Aloud’s mission is to motivate children to WANT to read, because motivation is the critical first step in developing any skill. Read Aloud involves families, the medical community, businesses, civic groups, and the society at large in building a culture that values reading. 

Read Aloud is a statewide nonprofit and volunteer network working to improve childhood literacy since 1986. Hundreds of Read Aloud volunteers visit classrooms all across West Virginia to read to children each week. Read Aloud distributes more than 20,000 books to children every year. 

NIP credits offered for gifts of $500 or more 

You qualify for Neighborhood 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 tax bill by that amount. Taxpayers may use all or part of the credit. They have five years to use all the credit. 

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, 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. 

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, providing a new book for all babies born at Women and Children’s Hospital, CAMC, for example. 

To donate: 

1. Mail a check to Read Aloud WV, PO Box 1784, Charleston, WV 25326 (the most cost-effective method). 

2. Go to readaloudwv.org and click the Donate button to make a secure donation through Square.  

3. Transfer stock. Call 304-345-5212 or email stateoffice@readaloudwv.org for details. 

4. Direct a retirement account distribution to Read Aloud. If it comes straight from your financial institution, even a disbursement from a tax-deferred plan may not incur taxes, and it will also qualify for the NIP tax credit. Call or email for details.