Reading Rocks

Event Description

Of course you know that being able to read is important. But how important is it really? In the United States, 93 million adults have extremely limited or limited reading and quantitative skills. Review just a few of the statistics below (source: Project Read) to see just how much illiteracy affects people’s lives:

• Those who have a skill level of a typical high school dropout qualify for about 10% of all new jobs
• 34.1% of job applicants lack the literacy skills needed to do the job they seek
• 70% of adult welfare recipients have low level literacy skills
• 43% of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty
• Individuals with low literacy skills have an average annual health care cost of $13,000 compared with the average of about $3,000

Research reveals that the ability to read and write as adults is correlated to encouraging better reading and writing habits in children in order to help prepare them for school. Strong literacy skills make all the difference and empower individuals to be productive members of society. Reading helps eradicate poverty and helps people reach their full potential.

Your organization has an opportunity to help encourage reading in a real way. Today your company will come together in an effort that will ultimately benefit families in need to encourage reading and learning. When a family is struggling to put food on the table, they don’t spend their money on things like books and bookshelves. How can you help?

As participants enter the room, they will be given a form of team identification. Once teams have gathered at their team tables, the emcee will explain what will happen during this two-part event.

Chapter One – Benches and Buddies
During the first portion of the event, each team will assemble one reading bench with storage; stuff and choose an outfit from a variety on offer for their two reading buddies (teddy bears); and decorate two canvas storage bins. Teams may only start working on these projects after they “earn” some of their supplies by completing a team puzzle. Teams will also have a poster board that must be designed as a book cover to tell the “story” of their reading buddies.

Chapter Two – Brains and Books
Halfway through the event, the emcee invites everyone to take a seat and put their thinking caps on. The goal of this half of the event is to earn as many books as possible. The first challenge features a series of literature-related trivia questions. Teams earn books based on how many trivia questions they get correct. Some are thought provoking and some are just fun, such as “In which decade was the song (Who Wrote) The Book of Love by The Monotones written?” Subsequent challenges require teams to refer to the books they’ve already earned in some way. For example, the name of a book and a secret code written in a series of letters and numbers such as the following - P5, L2, W5, L3. - is presented on the screen. When teams realize that this stands for Page 5, Line 2, Word 5, and Letter 3 of that book, they can begin to decipher the code. The first five teams that solve the code are given another book for their collection. The series of games culminates with a “Book Bingo” activity that has teams scrambling to find specific items in their books.

At the end of the event, the team with the most books is recognized and called to the stage to receive award medals for the great job they did. But the real winners are the recipients of your organization’s generous donation. With the books provided and a comfortable place to read, they will be on the right page towards a better life.

After a heartfelt thank you from the non-profit representative who will distribute the donated items, the group gives themselves a big round of applause for their part in sharing that Reading Rocks! Everyone leaves with a great feeling knowing they provided something of true value for a family or child in need.

Inclusions

• Set, strike and delivery of an event for teams of 8 participants
• Professional event leader and assistant(s) to emcee and organize the event
• Team identification for each participant
• Event equipment including supplies for games and donated goods. Donated Items May Include:
  • 1 reading bench per team
  • 2 Teddy bears per team including stuffing and outfits
  • 2 canvas bins per team
  • Approximately 15-20 books per team (variety of books for different age groups and reading levels)
• Award medals for each participant on the winning team
• Coordination including delivery to a local non-profit to receive the donation
• DJ to provide sound system and play music throughout the event

Additional Event Information

Note:  Based on event location and group size, event details may differ slightly from above description