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The Story
Hi, I'm Emily!
Thank you for your interest in the
NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB!
In 2004, I created the NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB as a rising 7th grader for several reasons. First, I love to read and to share great books with others. Second, incentives encourage me to work hard towards an important goal. As an elementary student, I was always recognized as a top reader in my school through the popular reading program, Accelerated Reader. I worked hard to earn points so that I could attend an ice cream celebration or the end-of-the-year Carnival. The Accelerated Reader Program ended with elementary school and as a middle school student, I still felt that I would benefit from a reading incentive program. Third, I think it is important to help others in need. Kids
need to read as reading opens doors to a bright future for everyone! Last, I knew my friends at The Spartanburg Day School felt the same way, and that a book club that included a community service project would not only be fun, but be an encouragement to them as well.
The NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB is a reading incentive club for
kids. An incentive for reading among club members is being "prepared to participate" in lively monthly book discussions. To keep our meetings the place to be, we also welcome interesting guest speakers, play fun games, make creative crafts, and enjoy good food and fellowship. Another incentive for reading among our club members is the NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB Service Project. "It's all about kids making a difference through reading!" Instead of what we can get for ourselves, a service incentive encourages what we can give to others. Through sponsored reading, NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB members are encouraged to read in order to earn money to buy new books for at-risk children. The more you read, the more you earn, the more you buy! It is so much fun to buy these new children's books. But it is amazing to actually get to distribute these books into the hands of the children! The smiles on the faces of these kids and on the faces of the club members are proof that the NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB is making a difference.
Through reading we learn to respect,
encourage, aspire, & dream - the keys to a bright future!
Happy Reading!
Emily Conrad
Recent Club Accomplishments:
July 2007: The
Founding Club Chapter earned $481.60
through the "Giving Tree"
fundraiser at Chick-fil-A Hillcrest.
Click
here to view a slide
show of the club's Giving Tree
presentation and book distribution to
the Boys & Girls Club at Mt. Moriah
Baptist Church summer camp.
May 2007: Holly
Springs-Motlow Elementary School Chapter
earned $1,334.00 through the "Reading
for Others" Service
Project. Click
here to view a slide
show of the club's book distribution
at the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.
May 2007: The
Boys & Girls Club Chapter at Carver
Junior High School earned $1,049.31
through the "Reading for
Others" Service Project.
Click
here to view a slide
show of the club's book distribution
at the Spartanburg Children Shelter.
November/December
2006: Under the direction of Valerie
Barnet, the Boys & Girls Club Chapter
performed Reader's Theatre of A Christmas
Carol at Spartanburg's Dickens
of a Christmas, Mary H. Wright
Elementary School BGC, Summit Hills
Retirement Community, and for Symtech's
Christmas party at the Piedmont Club.
Click
here to view slide show of the Reader's
Theatre presentation.
In the fall of 2006,
two new chapters of the Need to Read
Book Club were started. The first of
these clubs includes 30 members at the
Boys
& Girls Club at Carver Junior High
School in Spartanburg, S.C.
The second of these clubs includes 15
sixth graders at Holly
Springs-Motlow Elementary School in
Campobello, S.C.
The SDS chapter of the
NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB, now named the
Spartanburg Founding Chapter, held the first
"Summer Reading Bash" Book
Fair at Barnes and Noble Booksellers
June 2nd - 4th, 2006 to raise money
for new summer reading books for children
at the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen and
Boys & Girls Club of the Upstate.
The event was a huge success! Customers
donated 162 new books valuing over $1,000.
Another $1,600 was raised through a
percentage of sales at the event. The
SDS book club distributed over 600
books to children in need throughout
the summer. To view "Summer
Reading Bash" Photo Scrapbook click
here!
In the spring of 2006, the SDS chapter of the book club raised over $2,000.00 and bought and distributed hundreds of books to children at the Soup Kitchen. Mayor Bill Barnet and Clifford the Big Red Dog helped distribute books, making the event extra special.
In the spring of 2005, The Spartanburg Day School chapter of the NEED TO READ BOOK CLUB raised over $2,400.00, bought over 600 books from Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and distributed them to children in need at The Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.
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