Dear Friend of Reader To Reader,

I hope you enjoy this newsletter about the Reader To Reader Book Project. Our success is very much due to your donations of books, postage money, and most of all your generous spirit. Please forward this newsletter and help us spread the word.

This month I am pleased to share with you a letter from one of our volunteers, Ann Greene. Ann spends countless hours sorting books and preparing boxes that are then inventoried and packed by other volunteers.

Volunteer energy is at the very heart of Reader To Reader and quite frankly our work would not be possible without the many dedicated volunteers who volunteer each week. Here is Ann's letter.

Dear Reader to Reader Supporters,

I thought you might enjoy hearing about the organization from another angle. I have volunteered at Reader To Reader for the last 2 years.

I became interested after reading about Reader to Reader in the local paper. No one can be ignorant about the disparity of resources that exists among schools, or the importance of literacy. This article stated that someone, David Mazor, had decided to do something about it. So I joined up with a small but dedicated group of volunteers to unpack deliveries, sort donations, and repack books to be sent out. Some volunteers give several hours a week, others more, but each is enthusiastic and determined about getting books into the hands of children that need them. There are other participants that I never see. Some deliver books locally, others organize book drives to gather and donate to Reader To Reader, and some donate financially.

It is so heartening to see the book donations arrive. Some packages contain 5 books, some 100, and some days completed book drives bring in thousands of books. It is especially encouraging to see the number of donated books in response to Katrina. It gives me and my fellow volunteers a feeling of accomplishment to repack these books and see them sent out to institutions desperate for materials to offer their students. Our small efforts can make a difference.

Yes, I have broken quite a few nails unpacking books. Yes, I have strained my back lifting one too many boxes when I know better. And I have become a landfill and tag sale ghost, always haunting them looking for free or very cheap books. But I have been heartened by the generosity of the Reader To Reader supporters and volunteers.

So keep those books coming, keep sending thank you notes and words of encouragement, and keep helping financially when you can.

--Ann Greene

Thanks Ann, we couldn’t do it without you!

Here is a nice note from our friends at Marvell High School in Marvell, Arkansas.

Dear David,

I so appreciate all the help you have been in supplying the books I've needed and all the books you have supplied here at Marvell. I think the service you are doing for schools in need is tremendous. Our Journalism class scheduled a distance learning this semester and the teacher requested the Associated Press Stylebook. Thank you for special ordering it on our behalf.

Thanks so much for everything.

Nancy Baldwin
Librarian
Marvell High School
Marvell, Arkansas

Here’s something amazing, you can now help Reader To Reader every time to search the Internet!

GoodSearch.com is a new search engine with a unique social mission. They donate ad revenue (about a penny per search) to the charity its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine and simultaneously help Reader To Reader fundraise. It's powered by Yahoo!, so you get the same great results.

Using Good Search on behalf of Reader To Reader is a simple yet powerful way to do good every day without spending any extra time or money and the pennies add up. If just a few hundred people use GoodSearch.com we will raise thousands per year.

Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ and under “Who do you Good Search for?” type in Reader To Reader and click “verify.” Then just surf away.

Thank you and please help us spread the word.

Until next month,

Sincerely,

David Mazor
Executive Director
Reader To Reader
http://www.readertoreader.org
email: dmazor@readertoreader.org

Mailing address for monetary donations and books:

Reader To Reader
Cadigan Center
38 Woodside Avenue
Amherst, MA 01002

Or donate via credit card online.