The Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund awarded a $3,000 grant to the Grand Mound Elementary School Boosters, who are organizing Grand Mound Elementary School’s second annual Read-A-Thon, according to a news release.
Funds will be used to purchase “a forever book” for each of the school’s 520 students to kick off the Read-A-Thon, according to Boosters President Nicole Slaby.
The “forever book” given out to students during the inaugural Read-A-Thon was Peter Brown’s “The Wild Robot.”
“We collaborate with school administration and staff in order to enhance and support their ongoing dedication to teach literacy,” Slaby said in the release. “Access to books and adding to students’ home libraries is a wonderful way to support literacy. The kids really enjoyed the Read-A-Thon last year, and this year will be just as special, thanks to the generosity of the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund.”
The Boosters organized the school’s inaugural Read-A-Thon toward the end of the last school year in May.
Students participated by reading as much as they wanted both at school and at home. They kept track of their reading by filling out bingo cards and turning them into their teachers.
As bingo cards were completed, students were entered in to win a prize basket, with two baskets per class and one grand prize.
Slaby added that with state testing being conducted in May, some have discussed moving the second annual Read-A-Thon to March. She expects to know exact dates by early January.
“It will be May or possibly March if the teachers wanted to move it,” she said. “We are so excited to run this again for the students school wide.”
Additionally, the Boosters have an online fundraiser through Scholastic to raise $1,000 to stock the school’s book vending machine. As of Dec. 31, the campaign had raised $610.
Those interested in donating can visit Scholastic’s website at https://tinyurl.com/3hfmc2d5.
Established in 1999, Grand Mound Elementary School Boosters is a nonprofit with a parent-volunteer base whose goal is enriching each Grand Mound Elementary School student’s learning experience and the student’s quest for lifelong literacy.
To learn more, visit https://www.gmesboosters.com/ or follow the Boosters on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/37rcm9wu.
With operations first beginning in 1900, Weyerhaeuser is one of the world’s largest private timberland property owners — now owning or controlling approximately 10.5 million acres of timberland in the U.S. and managing additional timberland in Canada.
With its first charitable donation made in 1903, the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund was later founded in 1948. Since then, over $266 million in grant funding has been awarded by the company according to the release.
Grant funding from the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund is meant to support organizations, nonprofits and programs in both rural and urban settings in which the company operates.
To learn more about the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund, visit Weyerhaeuser’s website at https://tinyurl.com/3kjw5b4f.
