I believe this year's Read-a-Thon fundraiser for Hardwick Head Start and Early Head Start can be declared a success! We had 19 students--from junior high through college--sign up, collect pledges, and spend all (or at least most) of the night reading. We also had a great showing of support from other community members, including parents, librarians, Head Start faculty, and other friends who helped publicize the event, donated food and beverages, and came to spend the night, helping to keep the whole thing running smoothly. I also need to mention my gratitude to the Grand Union and Hardwick House of Pizza for their donations--the support of our fellow businesses in town means a great deal, and allows us to continue to host this special fundraiser.
While most of the night was spent reading, along with some sleeping (there's no shame in taking a nap!), there were also chances to rest the eyes to eat pizza, play Literary Jeopardy, join children's librarian Susan O'Connell on a midnight run to the Jeudevine Library, and play a spirited game or two of Bananagrams. Even with such distractions, a lot of reading took place, with books from The BFG to Twilight to Sometimes a Great Notion keeping readers engrossed in literature through the wee hours of the morning. It's always a joy for a bookseller and a book lover to see others excited about reading, especially young readers, who are often cited as losing interest in books by various polls and studies. If I could share one moment with you: imagine between 35 and 40 people of all ages, sitting or lying in various spots around the bookstore, completely silent except for the soft shuffle of turning pages.
Those people were here because they share a love of books, and they are passing that on through the donations they raised for the Head Start students. The money raised by every Read-a-Thon goes in some way to support literacy, whether it's comfortable seating in the Head Start reading area, books for the program's library, a listening center to allow children to listen to audio books, or gift certificates for the Head Start families to buy books to keep and read at home. Thank you to everyone who participated and everyone who made a donation to share the gift of reading with a new generation of readers.
