Rasco From RIF
August is well underway, the media is now reminding us that indeed it is time to think about “back to school” tasks. Check out this article in the September issue of Family Circle Magazine: “Your Biggest Back-to-School Questions, Answered.”
Do you have tips to share?
Happy Reading!
Add comment August 10th, 2010
The ALMA is considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the field of children’s literature. The nominations are judged by a panel of 12 experts in children’s literature, including a representative of Astrid Lindgren’s family. The award winner receives a prize of approximately $640,000 (US dollars).
Nominees for the award are solicited from multiple countries and must be authors, illustrators, storytellers or promoters of children’s/young adult literacy (either individuals or organizations). Past award recipients have included Banco del Libro (“Book Bank”) of Venezuela, author Katherine Paterson, author Phillip Pullman, and author/illustrator Maurice Sendak.
The United States division of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is one of the organizations authorized to submit nominations for the award. For the 2011 award, USBBY nominated Reading Is Fundamental and author/illustrator Jerry Pinkney.
RIF’s long-standing history of innovation in children’s literacy is a key reason USBBY nominated RIF for this distinguished honor. As the United States becomes a more diverse nation, RIF’s Multicultural Literacy Campaign serves as a clear example of that innovation and RIF’s adaptability to ensure all children are motivated to read. Additionally, RIF’s educational websites Leading to Reading and Reading Planet further demonstrate RIF’s innovation and use of technology to provide a fun and engaging experience for readers of all ages.
The 2011 awards will be announced in March 2011. For more information about the award, please visit http://www.alma.se/en/.
Add comment June 25th, 2010
Ooops, I meant to post this yesterday but found the wi-fi site I frequent on the mountain closed “early” and therefore, no posting Saturday afternoon.
Week two in the new office finds RIF settling in and working full steam ahead on upcoming activities: “See What’s Brewing” on the Hill this week and the week of May 24 our spring Board meeting, Gala, visits by our national Volunteers of the Year and both our Literature Advisory Board and Multicultural Advisory Committee. Is this best called “piling it on” ourselves? It will be fun!
COTY: Looking in the rear view mirror, last week was kicked off by a delightful train trip to Stamford, Connecticut where RIF Board member Juanita James of Pitney Bowes was honored by the City of Stamford and the Jewish War Veterans Fred Robbins post 142 as the 65th Stamford Citizen of the Year (COTY). A room at the Italian Center the native Stamford citizens told me is regularly limited to 350-400 guests was packed with 550 individuals present to honor Juanita; quite a tribute, eh? And these folks know how to run a tribute program….an hour of great visiting in advance, dinner, scholarship presentations, and a fun Larry King Live production featuring Juanita followed by a formal presentation of her through remarks of her husband and son, Juanita’s acceptance and voila, it was only 9:15 p.m….plenty of time for more visiting by those who wished to do so! Without question the highlight of the evening was Juanita’s son Dudley N. Williams III presenting his mother – no dry eyes in the room and the most genuine mother/son love you could hope to find in a presentation. Congratulations, Juanita and family, we are so proud to work alongside you!
Pictures below: (1) Squint and you will see it is truly Larry King Live with Juanita as the guest! (2) Dudley III presents his mom. (3) Juanita accepts the award.
DCI: A few years ago as a 40th RIF anniversary gift to the children of DC, RIF national took on the task of directly coordinating the RIF Books for Ownership program within the DC Public Schools; we call it the DC Initiative or DCI. Working in cooperation with a designated lead at each school, RIF closes its office doors three days a year to spend time “walking the walk” in more than 40 schools. It is a time of learning for us and for renewing our dedication to RIF’s mission. This year we have used as the theme for the three distributions the particular culturally designated celebration in the month of the distribution…last week’s distribution was in honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. DC’s Martin Luther King Jr. elementary school has been paired this year for each distribution with students at Tyson William Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska for a Skype experience each distribution; read more about the Dragon dance and these great students!
BookSpring of Austin: I learned through Twitter this week Supt. Carstarphen of Austin visited a RIF site at Barrington Elementary overseen by BookSpring in recent days. She found upon entering the library that it was camping time! What a great way to lead into summer reading – reminding our students in fun ways how important it is for them to continue their reading, expand their reading horizons!
HALF THE SKY: Finally, early in the week I completed this book by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; it is a tough book to read…tough emotionally, tough intellectually to genuinely absorb “yes, this is all really happening to women and girls around the world.” I’ll write more later, but you need to put HALF THE SKY: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide on your reading list, the “must” read side of the list!
Wishing you all best wishes as you start the new week, Happy Reading!
Carol
Twitter: @RascofromRIF
Add comment May 16th, 2010
Congressman Cao visits with students about their dreams for their futures.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Congressman Cao asked the enthusiastic students. Hands shot up as students prepared to answer the question. “I want to be a doctor” replied one student. “I want to be a police officer” replied another student. “I want to be a vegetarian”, replied still another student, “because I like animals”. The Congressman politely corrected the student, “I think you mean veterinarian!”.
This was the scene last Friday, May 7th at William J. Fischer Accelerated Academy as part of their third RIF book distribution sponsored by Communities In Schools of Greater New Orleans; the event was covered by The Times-Picayune. The theme for this distribution was “Dreams of What You Can Be” and CIS featured Congressman Ahn “Joseph” Cao (LA-2) for a special presentation and read-aloud to 3rd through 5th grade students. After reading My Granny Went to Market, Congressman Cao observed the students selecting their RIF books and volunteers from Communities In Schools helped the students stamp them and write their names in their new book.
“Teaching children how to read is essential to developing an educated and competitive work force, and the RIF Inexpensive Book Distribution program is a great way to get books in the hands of young readers. That is why I am so enthusiastic in my support for RIF and Communities in Schools,” said Congressman Cao.
“Reading is one of the ways that children can begin exploring different opportunities for their futures,” said Sara Massey, executive director of CIS – Greater New Orleans and RIF coordinator. “We are thrilled that Congressman Cao could join us in New Orleans to encourage students to begin thinking of their dreams and how reading can help them achieve their goals.”
The CIS – Greater New Orleans RIF program has provided 7,500 books for local children this school year. Last August, students at six Orleans parish schools received 2,500 books through the “United We Read” initiative launched by RIF, CIS – Greater New Orleans, and the National PTA as part of President Obama’s United We Serve campaign. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the CIS – Greater New Orleans RIF program has provided more than 12,000 books to elementary school children in seven Orleans parish public schools.
RIF Coordinator and executive director Sara Massey greets Congressman Cao.
Happy reading!
Stephen Leach
VP Government Relations and Community Outreach
Add comment May 13th, 2010
RIF is so proud to call Rachael Flatt “family”; congratulations to you, Rachael, upon being named the U. S. Women’s National Figure Skating Champion! Applause and showers of gold stars as well for being named on Friday one of ten skating elite scholar-athletes by the U. S. Figure Skating Association.
It is on to Vancouver, and we’ll be cheering loudly for you!
2 comments January 24th, 2010
Slapshot, The Washington Capitals Mascot; First Grade Student, King Elementary School; Brendan Morrison, Washington Capitals Player
Greetings, it’s Ernestine Walls Benedict, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at RIF. I’ve got some exciting news to share with you! On Nov 10, RIF kicked off the third year of its DC Initiative, the Washington DC RIF program that serves more than 16,000 children by distributing over 50,000 free books to them each year. RIF staff from the national office joined with local volunteers to organize and participate in reading celebrations throughout the city.
An extra special kickoff event was held at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Southeast DC. First grade students at King Elementary participated in a cultural exchange via Skype with fifth grade students from the RIF Program at William Tyson Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska. In observance of National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, the students from Tyson Elementary performed an action-filled interpretation of the children’s book, Totem Tale: A Tall Story From Alaska by Deb Vanasse and Erik Brook. The students also discussed Native Alaskan culture along with a lively Q & A session. King first graders confidently belted out their names and asked Tyson 5th graders a host of fun questions, “Does it ever get hot in Alaska? Do you have real totem poles in your town? Have you ever seen an eagle or a polar bear?” The students from Tyson enthusiastically answered each question and provided fun facts about Alaska.
The fun didn’t stop there! Washington Capitals player Brendan Morrison joined the celebration and talked with the students about his love for reading and hockey. All the students beamed with joy when mascot Slapshot made a surprise guest appearance. To commemorate the day, the students received cool Washington Capitals magnets, autographed photos of Brendan in action on the ice AND most important of all, they got books!! Each student selected a new book to keep and also received a copy of Totem Tale: A Tall Story from Alaska. It was inspiring to see how the children connected with each other over Skype – opening new doors of communication and learning experiences that will hopefully stay with them for a lifetime. It was a Capital Day indeed!
Stay tuned for our next DC Initiative event on February 9, 2010 when King fifth graders will conduct a cultural exchange with Tyson first graders in celebration of Black History Month!
Happy Reading!
Ernestine
P. S. from Rasco: See what a great job Ernestine did on FOX5 News on Tuesday talking about RIF and children’s literacy! And here is a three-minute interview by The Washington Examiner.
Wednesday Window features books and/or information which illustrate the “Windows” portion of the paper “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.”
1 comment November 11th, 2009
One of the fun perks of this job is that I frequently get to rally people at public events for the cause of reading. But today’s event where I will ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City to officially launch our Book A Brighter Future™ campaign with Macy’s will be especially fun. I would never have dreamed as I grew up in that small town in south Arkansas, reading in a corner of the basement of the public library on many hot, summer days that I would be at a big city stock exchange many summers later ringing the closing bell!
You can watch the whole thing live at 3:30 p.m. ET at NASDAQ MarketSite.
Stay tuned for more news about the campaign tomorrow.
Happy Reading!
Carol
2 comments June 30th, 2009
(From left to right.) Alan Yamamoto of Senator Daniel Inouye’s office reads with children part of the PACT RIF program. Former Hawaii Governor John Waihee, founder and president of Read To Me International and former first lady of Hawaii, Lynne Waihee, Stephen Leach, and Ricky Oshiro of Senator Daniel Akaka’s office. Parents and children from the PACT program participating in RIF activities.
Hello this is Stephen Leach, RIF vice president of government relations and community outreach, and I wanted to share with you the series of unprecedented events that RIF participated in last week.
Never in the history of RIF have we conducted two Congressional Reading Celebrations, a Regional Gathering, two conference presentations, and a vendor booth all in the same week until last week in Honolulu, Hawaii. Last week also featured the first bare foot RIF distribution in recent memory!
To honor the support and contributions of Hawaii’s U.S. Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, the Parents and Children Together (PACT) RIF program hosted staff from their offices to show their appreciation for all they do to support literacy and education. One of the events was held at a Buddhist temple where PACT staff meet weekly with local families, and as is customary in a temple, you must remove your shoes upon entering. RIF staff Rebecca Chrystal Armstrong, Cody Ruxton, Wendell Bassett, and I were all delighted to share in this tradition! Congressional staff members delivered a message from the Senators recognizing the partnership between RIF and PACT and thanked each organization for its work with local keiki (children) and ohana (families).
RIF, with the generous support of Macy’s, hosted a Regional Gathering at the exquisite Pineapple Room restaurant located at the Macy’s store at the Ala Moana Center. This event attracted more than 50 attendees, including a number of Macy’s employee’s, staff from Senator Akaka’s office, RIF volunteers, attendees from the Read To Me International conference, founder and president of Read To Me International and former first lady of Hawaii, Lynne Waihee and her husband, former Governor, John Waihee. We even had a parent and 2 year-old from the PACT program drive over an hour to attend the gathering! This truly represented a cross section of the entire RIF family!
RIF staff presented break-out sessions during the Read to Me International conference on Multiculturalism. In the Sponsor’s Pavilion, RIF had a booth with information about starting a RIF program and we conducted a raffle for a multicultural book collection.
Overall, an unprecedented and historic week of events for RIF staff and the keiki and ohana of Honolulu!
Stephen
Hanauma Bay, Oahu
2 comments June 24th, 2009
Carol Sisco.
A special Reading Is Fundamental book distribution took place today at Eastport Elementary School in Annapolis, Md. This inaugural event honored the memory of Jane M. Sisco, the daughter of one of RIF’s founding board members, Jean Head Sisco, and the sister of current RIF board member, Carol B. Sisco—a resident of Annapolis.
Jane M. Sisco championed two causes throughout her life: children’s literacy and environmentalism. In honor of her dedication to both causes, the “Our Natural World” RIF book distribution marked the beginning of the Jane M. Sisco Fund’s partnership—also known as “Read for Jane”—with Eastport Elementary School.
Through the partnership, Eastport will receive funding for their RIF Books for Ownership program and an environmentally themed lending library. As part of the RIF program, children at Eastport receive three free, new books each year. Children will make their selection from a wide assortment of books, including those related to nature, conservation, and the Chesapeake Bay region.
Also in attendance at the book distribution were Margaret McNamara Pastor, daughter of RIF founder Margaret McNamara, and Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of RIF.
In addition to remembering Jane M. Sisco’s efforts, RIF is proud to recognize the Sisco family as our June Donor of the Month. The Sisco family has provided funds as well as strategic assistance since RIF’s earliest days. With connections going back to RIF’s founding in 1966, the Sisco family also demonstrated its continued commitment to children’s literacy by serving as an advocate sponsor for RIF’s 2009 Gift of Reading Gala on June 2. We are truly grateful for the Sisco family’s support in helping us ensure that all children discover the joy of reading.
Fifth grader Michael S. and Carol B. Sisco display Michael's new book.
First grade students in Ms. Lord's class pose with Carol B. Sisco. From left to right are Ricardo V-P, Karla H., Sisco, Ja'Mari H., and Mya C.
Add comment June 4th, 2009
(From left to right.) FESTIBA press conference held at Dustin Michael Sekula Public Library. Stephen Leach speaking at the FESTIBA press conference. Traditional Mexican dancers performing at the press conference.
Hello, I am Stephen Leach, director of government relations and community outreach for RIF. I have been involved with RIF’s South Texas initiative since its inception and was honored to represent RIF at a press conference announcing the University of Texas-Pan Americans’ Festival of International Books and Art or FESTIBA, scheduled for March 22-28. According to Dahlia Guerra, dean of the college of arts and humanities at UTPA, FESTIBA “will celebrate the arts and humanities, encourage literacy, and broaden cultural awareness through books, poetry, drama, lectures, musical concerts, art exhibits, presentations in design, dance, theater, films, and much more”. Last year, numerous RIF programs in the region conducted distributions during FESTIBA week. We also participated in Community Day, the culminating activity on the main lawn at UTPA, which featured a main stage with musical and dance performances, food and craft booths, and various pavilions highlighting the work of artists, musicians, and actors.
The press conference was held at the Dustin Michael Sekula Public Library in Edinburg, Texas. After an overview of FESTIBA by Dahlia, Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa welcomed everyone to the city. John Edwards, vice president of UTPA, gave some opening remarks followed by a video message by Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, (TX-15) who has been instrumental in supporting RIF in this region and FESTIBA. Next Steven Schneider, professor at UTPA, talked about the Big Read grant they were awarded and the feature book for FESTIBA, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima. I talked about RIF’s role for FESTIBA including more RIF schools conducting book distributions and guest readers from the South Texas Literacy Coalition. I also invited everyone to visit the RIF tent on Community Day. I was followed by Laura Hinojosa, President of the South Texas Literacy Coalition and Peter Dabrowski, associate professor at UTPA. The crowd of about 50, including news media, was treated to a performance by one of the phenomenal UTPA Mariachi groups and dancers. It was quite a sample of what to expect during the week of FESTIBA!
Stephen
3 comments February 25th, 2009