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OKLAHOMA
CITY
 All
students at the Green Pastures Elementary were involved in the Chapter’s
Reading Rally. The 114 students met in the school library and were broken
into groups by grade (K-2nd; 3rd and 4th; and 5th and 6th) for 45 minute
sessions. EWI Member Yolanda Holman read to the children. Each child received
two age-appropriate books, a goodie bag and a T-shirt. In fact, the Reading
Rally T-shirts will serve throughout the year as the school’s Friday
shirt.
Heather Clark and members of the National Honor Society, Key Club and
DECA co-sponsored a concurrent Reading Rally at Western Heights High School.
They collected books for grades K-6. EWI members were encouraged to participate
in “Adopting-A-T-shirt” and supporting the book drive. A second
phase of the Reading Rally will start in the spring of 2005. It will be
co-sponsored by the students of Western Heights High School.
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 The
Reading Rally was held on October 20th with Campfire Boys and Girls at
three locations.
At Central Park, 11 children listened to the first chapter of the book
“Anastasia Krupnik” read by a member of The Omaha Community
Playhouse. They were iven a notebook, colored pencil, glitter glue, markers
and stickers to decorate the notebook and to write a poem or a story.
All children wore their EWI T-shirts and were given a pink slip allowing
them and their families to attend the Playhouse presentation of the play
“Anastasia Krupnik” in February. At Heritage, approximately
19 children enjoyed the same format as the children of Central Park. At
the Liberty location, 10 children participated and enjoyed the same story
read to them by a member of the Playhouse. Each child received a copy
of the book and since the Chapter ordered a large number of books from
literacy partner Scholastic, the extra books were donated to Girls Inc.
There were 51 children and 14 volunteers involved in the three part Reading
Rally.
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ORANGE COUNTY
The Project HOPE School (Homeless Outreach Program in Education), is
the only transitional school in Orange County that meets the educational
needs of homeless children, grade K through 8. The school requested a
very specific list of books for its library as part of the school's prepartions
to participate in the Accelerated Reader Program. The Chapter’s
main fundraising efforts went to buying or collecting donations to meet
this request. Through generous donations the Chapter raised $3,390 and
was able to provide the school with every book on their list – over
800 titles – as well as an additional 250+ books for their library.
On October 22, four drama students from the Orange County School of Arts,
energized and motivated the 96 students by acting out interactive Halloween
skits and animated readings of popular Halloween stories. Then Fire Chief
Josh Gerard, and his team of firefighters from the city’s Fire Department,
gave a presentation on the role of the firefighter, how the fire truck
operated, and answered numerous questions. Victor Lopez, a local college
student, did face paintings. Nine EWI volunteers read stories to the children
in small groups. Each child was given a large white bag along with drawing
and coloring tools and stickers to decorate the bags for Halloween. Treats
and toys filled the bags. A pizza lunch and cookies were provided. Each
child was able to select 2-3 books to keep. They also recieved a knitted
bookworm made by a member’s mother. Each child also received a backpack
filled with school supplies and other items donated by many generous sponsors
and member firms.
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ORLANDO
 A
Halloween Party was held for the children at the Kids House of Seminole,
a facility for abused children. They enjoyed characters “Snow White”
and “Cat in the Hat” who welcomed them and read books. The
children enjoyed face painting, crafts, snacks and a Halloween cake. Each
child received books, a Reading Rally T-shirt, puzzles and puppets. Approximately
20 children and 12 EWI volunteers participated. Sponsors donated $280
and Scholastic Inc. donated 70 books.
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to chapter list
PHOENIX
 At
the Harmon Library, children were encouraged to choose a book and read
it to one of the 13 volunteers. If the child was too young, the book was
read to them.  Each
child received a goodie bag containing a a book, a T-shirt, pencils, crayons,
coloring books, puzzles, candy and trinkets to take home. Member firms
were generous in donating items for the Reading Rally and all extras were
left with the library for use in after school study groups. Approximately
140 children benefited from the Reading Rally.
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PITTSBURGH
The Reading Rally was held on November 18 at the Holy Family Institute.
The theme was Thanksgiving and stories were in keeping with that holiday.
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POMONA VALLEY
The Chapter donated $200 and approximately 100 books to the LeRoy Haynes
Center for their reading library. LeRoy’s is a residential treatment
center for boys ages 5 to 18. Approximately 85 boys are currently at the
Center.
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PORTLAND
The Reading Rally was held on October 21 at the Community Transitional
School. The school provides important educational services to children
who are homeless or otherwise at risk for school failure. Filmmaker/Author
Ron Craig did a presentation on “York”, the only African American
on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. He has written a National Geographic
children’s book about York based on reading the journals written
during the expedition. Wendy Thompson from the Community of Writers talked
to the children about journal writing. They were encouraged to journal
about what they read, what they are doing in life, and more. She started
them on a project to create their own journals (donated by the Chapter).
EWI volunteer Diane Kruger taught the children how to do leaf prints and
crayon rubbings and other volunteers helped the children decorate the
covers and take pictures for their journals. All 70 participants received
a Reading Rally T-shirt and a new backpack filled with books, stuffed
animals, a toothbrush, a plastic cup and a ruler. The Chapter also donated
new books, school supplies and toiletries to the school for use in their
classrooms.
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RALEIGH-DURHAM
Fourth graders at the Brentwood Elementary School were invited to participate
in a writing contest entitled, “If I were president…”.
Many schools were invited to join and approximately 20 entries were received.
The 1st place winner received a $100 savings bond and 2nd place received
a $50 savings bond. All applicants received a T-shirt. The winning student’s
school received a $100 donation to its library for the purchase of new
books.
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RICHMOND
The Reading Rally was held at the Southside Unit of the Boys and Girls
Club. Approximately 23 children, grades K through 3rd enjoyed Shel Silverstein’s
timeless classic “The Giving Tree”. The children were given
paper and crayons and drew pictures and shared the gifts given in the
story. The Richmond Chapter supplied refreshments and the children left
with a Reading Rally T-shirt, a book, a pencil and lots of smiles.
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ROCHESTER, MN
 The
Reading Rally was held in conjunction with a Boy Scout event open to the
public, and targeting children grades 5 and under. The event typically
brings in 250-300, but inclement weather affected attendance. Camp Spooky
is held annually at the Boy Scouts Gamehaven Council. The Chapter’s
activity was a Halloween themed book the children put together. Materials
such as paper, Halloween coloring pictures and puzzle pages, colored markers
and stickers were made available to the children. Children were encouraged
to write a story or a sentence in regards to the pictures. Approximately
50 children and 4 EWI volunteers participated.
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