Our goal is to champion and preserve the joy of reading for generations to come! Thanks to tax-deductible gifts from generous donors in our community, we can partner with under-resourced school districts and community centers in our area, especially the Ravenswood School District in East Palo Alto. For the past decade, we’ve brought award-winning authors to public school campuses to share great stories and spark a love of reading. Over 15,000 students have participated in these programs, and we have donated more than 5,000 books to the schools’ libraries, classrooms and children.

In 2020, with schools closed to in-person learning, we re-envisioned our program so we could continue to support the students and nurture their passion for reading and writing. We wanted to create a program that would connect all the students across the district through the shared experience of reading a book and sharing their reactions collaboratively through their writing.

Through this innovative program, every Ravenswood student, 1,800 students in all, were able to hear from one of our favorite award-winning authors through original videos we produced with introductions to the author’s books, frequently asked questions and writing tips. Every student then received a copy of the book along with a companion journal to use for their own writing.

The youngest readers explored Hiro’s Hats through a read aloud video and drawing demonstration with author Elisa Klevin.  The 3rd-5th graders read Katherine Applegate’s The One And Only Ivan and 6-8th graders read Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds. We were so grateful for the opportunity to continue to let Ravenswood students know that we care about them and value their education.