When You Read With A Child, Everybody Wins!

Wolper Subscription Services Seeking Recipes For Cookbook To Benefit Everybody Wins!

Our friends at Wolper Subscription Services are creating a new cookbook showcasing a collection of recipes from Wolper employees and customers. Wolper has generously selected Everybody Wins! USA to receive a portion of proceeds from the cookbook.

Do you have a favorite recipe you'd like to see included in the cookbook? Take your favorite cookbook down off the shelf, or dig out your flour-dusted recipe card box, and send your submissions to Wolper at http://wolper.com/recipes/recipe.html

The Professor Garfield Foundation Learning Portal Welcomes MrsP.com

News from Everybody Wins! USA Honorary Board Member and Partner www.MrsP.com:

June 27, 2010 - The Professor Garfield Foundation www.professorgarfield.org learning portal announced the addition today of www.MrsP.com to its fun, interactive online environment where children can safely explore, learn and creatively express themselves. The agreement between popular storytelling site MrsP.com and Professor Garfield web site, one of the largest free learning portals on the Internet for grades K-8, was unveiled at the ISTE conference in Denver, Colorado, which is geared to learning and teaching through technology.

“The addition of Mrs. P to our portal seemed a natural,” said Bob Levy, a member of the board of directors for the Professor Garfield Foundation.  “We have similar missions to both educate and entertain, with the ultimate goal of helping to instill a love of reading in children.”  The Professor Garfield site attracts millions of visitors each month.

MrsP.com offers read-along options on its library of free videos, a feature which has proven beneficial to both young readers and ESL students. The site also hosts an annual writing contest and provides a host of games, activity guides and coloring sheets.  The site features TV star Kathy Kinney (“The Drew Carey Show”), who portrays Mrs. P and is also one of the creators of the website.

About The Professor Garfield Foundation
Professor Garfield Foundation is a collaboration between Ball State University and Paws Inc., the creative studio for Garfield the Cat. The foundation’s mission is to engage and inspire children through innovative interactive learning activities that are educationally sound, allowing children to achieve their full potential. Many school districts and parents find the content on the site to be an outstanding source of supplemental academic curricula. All of the content on the site is available at no charge.

About Mrs. P Enterprises, LLC.
Mrs. P Enterprises, LLC, was founded in 2008 by Hollywood team Clay Graham, Kathy Kinney and Dana Plautz. After having built successful careers in television and New Media, the three creators of MrsP.com were brought together by a love of reading and a desire to help spark that same passion in young people everywhere. The company endeavors to expose young people to great books and stories through a celebrity storyteller and to spark their imaginations and creativity with on-line games and writing contests. Its production offices are located in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California.

Maupin House's Blog: BEFORE THEY READ Wins 2010 Distinguished Achievement Awards in Professional Development

Maupin House Publishing is proud to announce that the 2009 title, Before They Read by author and national literacy consultant Cathy Puett Miller, was awarded the 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award in Professional Development in the Guided Reading category.

"This is truly an honor since the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) has such high standards and uses a multi-layer review system for determining the winners," Miller said. "When I spoke today with AEP staff, they told me that the number of entries was very high, making it even more gratifying that they chose Before They Read."

Miller has been on a mission since the release of this title (and its partner book, released in tandem, Anytime Reading Readiness).  "It is so important for families and educators to get on the same channel, focus on key predictors of later reading success such as oral language development; multiple, positive experiences with print; and early phonological awareness. My aim with these two books is to help facilitate that 'getting on the same page' approach and to start young children off with the sort of strong foundation that will result in it being easier for each child to learn to read at his or her prime time."Cathy Puett Miller is an active and passionate speaker and is available for engagements nationwide. Through the Maupin House Speakers Bureau, Cathy customizes professional development to fit the needs of her audience. Please contact Maupin House, [email protected], for more information about having Miller as a speaker or about her award-winning book, Before They Read.   

Cathy has also begun a simple challenge through the venue of social media that can help us all address the summer reading slump.  If you are on Facebook, visit her cause page "The Literacy Ambassador's K-6 Summer Challenge" to see the details.  If you aren't on Facebook, you can still be involved by emailing her at [email protected] with SUMMER CHALLENGE in the subject for complete details.  It's easy, free and fun and you'll make a difference in the life of a child.

via maupinhouse.blogspot.com

Former Everybody Wins! Power Lunch Student Receives Full College Scholarship

From Everybody Wins! USA Executive Director Rich Greif: 

As many of you know, I first got involved with Everybody Wins! and the Power Lunch program back in 1998. I was fortunate to have read each week to a boy named Jamal Jones. As I wrote about last year, Jamal and I stayed in touch over the years even after he "graduated" from Power Lunch in fourth grade (see Rich and Jamal: Reunited 10 Years Later).

This spring, I was excited to learn that Jamal would be graduating on-time with his high school class and that he was applying to colleges. He graduated from East Boston High School last Saturday and my family was honored to be invited to his graduation party. It was a joyous occasion to see Jamal's family and friends celebrate this important milestone in his life.

But the real surprise came midway through the evening when Jamal stood-up and thanked everyone for coming and supporting him. Before concluding his remarks, one of his aunts stood up and asked him to open the card she had for him. To Jamal's and nearly everyone's surprise, inside the card was the news that he had received a full scholarship to the University of New Hampshire! We could not be more thrilled for Jamal and his family. He is a wonderful young man with a bright future ahead of him.

 
Jamal and Rich at his graduation party, June 13, 2010

Everybody Wins! USA Meets with White House Domestic Policy Director Melody Barnes

Representatives from Everybody Wins! USA met with Melody Barnes, the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and staff from the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation at the White House on May 3rd. Last year, Ms. Barnes visited Everybody Wins! Iowa as part of the White House's Community Solutions Tour. Ms. Barnes wrote an article for the White House blog about her visit, saying, "Everybody Wins! is exactly the type of community solution that President Obama asked me to identify when he called on his Domestic Policy Council to scour the country for the very best, most innovative, most successful programs in our communities."

 

During the meeting, Everybody Wins! USA shared its progress over the past year preparing to replicate its Power Lunch mentoring program to more cities around the country as well as its efforts to raise awareness of Everybody Wins! and help current Everybody Wins! affiliates serve more children. "We applaud the White House's efforts to expand service opportunities in our country and help bring programs like ours to scale. We stand ready to bring the joy of reading and mentoring to more children and engage more citizens in meaningful volunteer opportunities that make a difference in their community," said Rich Greif, National Executive Director of Everybody Wins! USA, who attended the meeting with board members Matt Broder, David L. Brewer III, Brian Kropp, Manar Morales and Chris Mundy, and were also joined by Sonal Shah and Charlie Anderson of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

 

Ms. Barnes shared fond memories of Senator Kennedy's time as a Power Lunch mentor with Everybody Wins! DC, which was recently featured on the NBC Nightly News. Everybody Wins! USA also presented Ms. Barnes with a copy of Rose's Garden, a book inspired by and dedicated to the late Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The book is written by award-winning author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds who is also an Advisory Board member of Everybody Wins! Metro Boston. Just before his passing, Senator Kennedy wrote a touching quote for the book, saying of his mother, "She taught each of us to perservere, no matter how great the challenges, and to do all we could to care for others."

 

Everybody Wins! USA Board of Directors Elects Three New Members

Boston, MA - April 29, 2010 - Everybody Wins! USA, a nationally recognized literacy and mentoring organization, announced that David L. Brewer III, Brian Kropp and Meave G. O'Marah have been elected to the Board of Directors.

 

Vice Admiral David L. Brewer III (Retired) served his country for over 35 years in the United States Navy. During his distinguished career, Vice Admiral Brewer was honored with numerous military and civilian awards. Upon retirement from the Navy, Vice Admiral Brewer continued his service to our nation when he was selected in 2006 as the 46th Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the US, where he served until 2008. Vice Admiral Brewer continues to serve the nation's youth as a Los Angeles Co-Chair of the 5 Million Kids initiative, which will teach financial literacy to five million youth, parents and teachers.

 

Dr. Kropp is the Managing Director, Corporate Leadership Council in the Corporate Executive Board. His quantitative and strategic research is focusing on aligning the various HR performance processes with drivers of human capital outcomes. Prior to joining the Corporate Executive Board in 2002, Dr. Kropp has worked for a variety of research institutions and has taught economics, policy analysis, and quantitative methods courses at the University of North Carolina.  He has been published in several books, academic journals and other periodicals. Dr. Kropp holds a Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from the University of North Carolina and a M.A. and B.S. in Economics from Clemson University.

 

Ms. O'Marah founded The Owner's Representative in 2000 to provide strategic consulting and CFO services to start-up and small businesses. Ms. O'Marah has extensive experience in politics and public policy, having worked on criminal justice, education,  administration and finance issues. While working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, her focus was on fiscal policy and the close tie between policy initiatives and their effect on state finances. After leaving the public sector, Ms. O'Marah helped launch one of the nation's largest charter school management companies and functioned as the Vice-President for Strategic Planning and Director of Finance. Ms. O'Marah holds a B.A. from Harvard College, an M.S. from Oxford University and is completing an MBA in Entrepreneurship at Babson College.

 

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Brewer, Dr. Kropp and Ms. O'Marah, who bring a wealth of subject matter expertise, experience, and credentials to assist with Everybody Wins! USA's goal of doubling the number of markets operating our Power Lunch program," said Matt Broder, Everybody Wins! USA's Chairman of the Board.

   

About Everybody Wins! USA

 

Everybody Wins! USA builds the skills and love of reading among low-income elementary students by bringing volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one, read-aloud sessions, increasing children's opportunities for academic and real-world success. Everybody Wins! affiliates in 16 states and Washington, DC serves nearly 20,000 children and adults annually. For more information, please visit www.everybodywins.org

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Everybody Wins! DC Featured On NBC Nightly News

Everybody Wins! DC's Power Lunch program was featured tonight on the NBC Nightly News "Making A Difference Segment". We were thrilled to see Power Lunch mentors such as Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Vicki Kennedy, wife of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who himself was a Power Lunch mentor for 12 years.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Everybody Wins! Read to Kids Campaign Advances to Final Round of Change.org

BOSTON, March 2, 2010 — Everybody Wins! USA, a nationally recognized literacy and mentoring organization, finished second in Education Ideas for Change with its Read to Kids campaign on Change.org’s Idea for Change in America. The Read to Kids campaign now advances to the final round of voting that begins Monday, March 1st at 1pm ET and ends on Friday, March 12th at 5pm ET. The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama administration and be part of a national grassroots campaign to promote the idea.

Everybody Wins! USA is working in collaboration with literacy organizations, children’s book authors, publishers, reading associations, educators, libraries and businesses to make reading to children a national priority. Voting for the Read to Kids campaign can be done at: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/launch_a_national_read_to_kids_campaign

The Read to Kids campaign is one of 60 finalists in the final round of voting. The campaign would emphasize the importance of reading aloud to children of all ages and would engage literacy organizations, schools, teachers, parents, libraries, authors, publishers and nearly every sector of business and society that understands that our nation’s future depends on our children’s literacy skills.

About Everybody Wins! USA

Everybody Wins! USA strives to build the skills for and a love of reading among low-income elementary students and was recently cited by the White House as an “innovative and successful community solution.” Through its signature program, Power Lunch, Everybody Wins! brings volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one, read-aloud sessions, increasing children’s opportunities for academic and real-world success. Everybody Wins! currently serves nearly 20,000 children and adults through affiliates and partners in 16 states and Washington, DC. For more information, please visit http://www.everybodywins.org.

Pushing for the "Read to Kids" campaign

Ideas for a Change in America is a group dedicated to finding the best ideas and causes for change around the country, then rallying support for them to approach the big guys in Washington, D.C. The third most popular idea under education, as of Sunday, February 14th, is a "Read to Kids" campaign. http://www.change.org/ideas/view/launch_a_national_read_to_kids_campaign

The organization goes to Washington with the top 10 ideas overall, to present them to the media, nonprofit organizations, and the Obama administration.

via www.examiner.com

Everybody Wins! "Power Lunch" Program Reaches Milestone of 1,000 Volunteers in Massachusetts

Feb 10, 2010 – BOSTON, Mass., -- Everybody Wins!, a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit organization dedicated to building literacy skills and promoting a love of reading among low-income elementary students, has reached a milestone in 2010, with over 1,000 business professionals currently enrolled in the “Power Lunch” program in the greater Boston area.

Through the “Power Lunch” program, an initiative launched in New York City in 1991, participating companies nationwide send employees to schools within commuting distance of their offices. Each week, volunteers from businesses and community groups travel to local elementary schools during the lunch hour for one-to-one reading with students, promoting reading skills through reading aloud, and talking about books. While the reading sessions take only one hour per week, the results have been dramatic for adults and students alike.

“We are thrilled that the Everybody Wins! “Power Lunch” program has been so embraced by the business community in Boston,” said Everybody Wins! Metro Boston’s Executive Director, Darcy Madden. “To grow from serving 13 children in 2003 to this milestone of 1,000 Power Lunch mentors in 2010 is incredible and is a testament to the giving spirit of businesses in Boston.”

Everybody Wins! Metro Boston currently runs operations from the corporate headquarters of Boston-based staffing firm, Hollister. CEO Kip Hollister, a volunteer reader and longtime advocate of the program, welcomed the organization into her company’s space in 2006.

“As a staffing organization, we are positioned to do our best philanthropic work in the areas of education and training, two key components of workforce development,” said Hollister. “Everybody Wins! is an outstanding nonprofit because volunteers and students alike reap immediate benefits, and it’s forward-thinking, instilling a love of education in students that will ultimately help them as they grow into young professionals! It’s been extremely rewarding to watch Hollister’s employees develop such close bonds with their students, and feel good about giving back to their community.”

The nonprofit sees volunteers join at all levels of the corporate spectrum, and beyond. The late Senator Edward Kennedy was an ardent supporter of Everybody Wins!, making it a priority to read to students enrolled in the Washington, DC branch of the program for 12 years.

Everybody Wins! Metro Boston has recruited many of the area’s most prominent companies. Currently, The TJX Companies, Inc. hosts the highest number of volunteer readers in the Boston area, with 86 corporate employees reading during their lunch breaks each week.

"TJX and Everybody Wins! share a mutual belief that when we work to improve a child's vocabulary and listening ability, we are building their confidence and giving them essential life tools,” said Jerome Smalls, Vice President of Community Relations with TJX. “This program is a fantastic use of time, and I encourage more companies to participate.”

BNY Mellon is a long-standing corporate member of Everybody Wins!, having signed on with the nonprofit in 2004.

"For more than five years, Power Lunch has been one of our most popular employee volunteer programs," said Celina Miranda, Charitable Giving Manager at BNY Mellon. "Our philanthropic focus is built around 'powering potential' and our partnership with Everybody Wins! does just that. The near-term benefits of reading to children week-in and week-out are great, but the life-long gift it gives them is incalculable."

By the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, Everybody Wins! Metro Boston hopes to have 1,300 volunteers enrolled in “Power Lunch”.  Efforts are currently underway to expand the program’s reach to the Quincy neighborhood and elsewhere in the Boston area.

“Everybody Wins! is a great program where the young students win, our employees win and the program wins through our involvement,” said Jeff Beale, Chief Administrative Officer, Eaton Vance. We are pleased to be able to invest our time in the education of our youth, and this program allows us to do that in a responsible and impactful way.”

For more information on getting your company involved with Everybody Wins! Metro Boston, please visit www.ewmb.org or call Everybody Wins! Metro Boston’s Executive Director Darcy Madden at (617) 654-0334.

ABOUT EVERYBODY WINS
Everybody Wins! is a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit proven to build the skills and love of reading among low-income elementary students.  By bringing volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one reading experiences, everybody wins! - children, schools, volunteers, their companies and ultimately, society.- One mentor, one child, one book at a time -

ABOUT HOLLISTER
Hollister is a Boston-based, woman-owned, full-service staffing firm, passionate about connecting Massachusetts’ opportunity with talent in innovative and effective ways. For 21 years, Hollister has been the bridge that connects professionals with jobs in Massachusetts, and companies with the best employees.

Contact: Gillian Seely
[email protected]