Now More Than Ever - Reading Is Fundamental

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Nestlé Makes Reading SweetRIF Multicultural Literacy CampaignDonorProfileThrough the generosity of the employees ofNestlé USA and Nestlé’s corporate matchinggift, 21,500 children were able to add three newbooks—nearly 73,000 books in all—to theirhome libraries last year. In addition, manyAs many experts have reported, the real key tochanging education outcomes is improving earlychildhood literacy. According to the U.S. Departmentof Education, reading scores of 4th gradechildren from African-American, Hispanic, andNestlé employees volunteered at their adoptedNative American families are more than 25 per-RIF programs, sending a powerful message tocentage points below their white and Asianthe children participating in these programscounterparts. In an attempt to do somethingthat reading is important and fun. In 2007,about this disparity, RIF’s multiyear campaignNestlé gave an additional grant to RIF that willprovides parents and caregivers of children underhelp provide funding for the New Orleansthe age of five with educational resourcesPublic Library to replenish the books lost duringfor building children’s language skills. ThisCarol M. InfusinoHu n t i n g t o n Be a c h, Ca l i f.Iwas an educator for 40 years, working mainlywith special education students in gradesK–8. Given this background, I am verycommitted to people being readers andHurricane Katrina.Macy’s and RIF:A Successful PartnershipIn June 2007, Macy’s and RIF dramaticallyexpanded the scope of our partnership whenMacy’s helped launch the RIF MulticulturalLiteracy Campaign. As part of the campaign,RIF and Macy’s donated 350 multiculturalbook collections to schools across the country.campaign includes:• Literacy Resources—The Leading to Readingprogram includes a new bilingual early childhoodwebsite and an educational video, bothfunded under a grant from the Star SchoolsProgram of the U.S. Department of Education.• Literacy Training—RIF has expanded its Careto Read early childhood literacy training work-12r e a d i n g is f u n d a m e n t a lto putting books in the hands of children.I know firsthand what it means to giveyoung people access to books; if they don’thave the books, they can’t read. After weretired, my husband and I decided todonate to a number of organizationswhose missions we believed in. Weare thrilled that our contribution ishelping RIF fulfill its goals.Together, RIF and Macy’s capitalized on the successof previous RIF back-to-school promotionswith this year’s “Be One For The Books” program.During the six-week promotion, the programraised more than $2.5 million for RIF, making itthe largest customer-supported campaign in RIF’s41-year history. For every $3 donation made by aMacy’s customer, one dollar will be used to supportlocal RIF programs, another dollar willsupport RIF’s Multicultural Literacy Campaign,and the remaining dollar will help RIF’s ongoingefforts to provide reading resources to millions ofunderserved children.shops through a partnership with the NationalBlack Child Development Institute and withorganizations serving the Hispanic and NativeAmerican communities.• Public Education Outreach—New RIF publicservice announcements promoting the importanceof reading to young children beganairing on African-American and Native Americanradio stations, and on Hispanic televisionand radio stations in August. The campaign isfunded by Macy’s, with support from RIF’smedia partners Radio One, Univision, andKohanic Broadcast Corporation.
COORDINATORProfile14Daniel PerezCo o r d i n a t o r a n d Me d i a Sp e c i a l i s tPin e c r e s t El e m e n t a r y Sc h o o lIm m o k a l e e , Fl a.Our program is in a migrant community andmore than 98 percent of our kids are eligiblefor free and reduced lunch. Many of theparents struggle with low literacy, yet books are oftenthe last thing on their mind; they just don’t have themoney. RIF is a lifesaver for these children. Without it,they would never have the chance to own their ownreading materials. If we didn’t have RIF, this would bea very, very sad place.RIF Hosts Second AnnualProgram Excellence HonorsRepresentatives from 25 outstanding RIFprograms from across the country came toWashington, D.C., for three days to share, learn,and educate RIF’s staff about what really worksin getting kids excited about reading. At theevent, sponsored by MetLife Foundation, tips andbest practices were collected and will be formattedinto an interactive online resource for RIF programsand others interested in motivating childrento read. The RIF volunteers also visited Capitol Hillto tell their stories to Congress.2007 Volunteer of the Year AwardsFor 10 years, RIF has honored some of its bestvolunteers through the Anne Richardson Volunteerof the Year Awards (VOYA).Honorees in 2007 were Lisa Mertz of Sunbury,Pa., Lucy Her Many Horses of Rosebud, S.D.,and Oscar Cux of Norwalk, Calif. Each wasgiven a plaque, $350 for their respective RIFprograms, a Family of Readers program for theirsites provided by Capital One, and a trip toWashington, D.C., where they spokeat RIF’s annual fall gala.New Partnershipwith Holiday Inn ExpressIn the first year of our partnership, Holiday InnExpress engaged their hotels throughout thecountry to fundraise on behalf of local RIFprograms. Local hotels conducted a host offundraising activities—from car washes withlocal schools to auctions with other communityorganizations—to help raise money for local RIFprograms. With support from Scholastic, HolidayInn Express donated nearly 150,000 books tolocal RIF programs nationwide.In addition, the hotel chain initiated a variety ofopportunities for their employees and communitypartners to support RIF, including a workplacegiving campaign, various literacy-awarenessevents, and an exclusive reservation websitewhere customers can make a reservation for anyhotel in the Intercontinental Hotel Group familyand 9 percent of the room rate will be donateddirectly to RIF.MetLife Foundation Helpswith Numerous InitiativesIn addition to sponsoring Program ExcellenceHonors, MetLife Foundation funded six FamiliesMake the Difference trainings, where participantsprepared to present the workshops to parentsin their communities. Finally, more than21,000 Hispanic children pledged to participatein ¡Leamos Juntos!: Let’s Read Together 2007Hispanic Community Reading Challenge.r e a d i n g is f u n d a m e n t a l
Page 1 and 2: Now More Than EverANNUAL REPORT 200
Page 3 and 4: Now More Than EverReading Is Fundam
Page 5 and 6: 6r e a d i n g is f u n d a m e n t
Page 7: 19 % increase in numberRIF served l
Page 11 and 12: 4.6 millionchildren selected 16mill
Page 13 and 14: Individual Donors22r e a d i n g is
Page 15 and 16: Summary Balance Sheets As of Septem

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