Is your school looking for a fundraiser to help stock the library shelves?  The Read-a-Thon fundraiser is a great match for elementary and junior high schools who are raising funds for thier school library. Maybe you need to purchase new computers, books or other learning materials.  If so this fundraiser is still a great match for your fundraising needs.

Creating a school Read-a-Thon is fairly simple, you begin by creating forms that students can bring to family, friends and neighbors to ask for sponsors. Students can ask to be sponsored per book, or for a flat donation (children may be a bit more encouraged to read even more if donations are for “per book”). Distribute the forms to each classroom and explain how the Read-a-Thon will work.

Run the Read-a-Thon for a predetermined amount of time, such as two weeks, one month or up to six weeks.  Some Read-a-Thons that are based from public libraries last the entire summer.

The librarian can take an active part in this fundraiser. Ask the librarian suggest great books to each grade and class. Some students may be strong readers, and may already have an idea of what they like to read. Other students may be eager to compete, but may not be as confident about book selection. These students will appreciate having the librarian visit each classroom to talk a bit about good books for them to read, handing out a suggested reading list and answering their questions about ways to find great books. The Read-a-Thon will hopefully inspire some students to be stronger readers, and leave them with a love of reading at the end of the program.

Encourage students to obtain sponsorship from their family and friends. Parents may also bring the sponsorship sheet into their workplace, which could add up to additional sponsors. Creating a flyer with ideas for where they can raise funds could be very helpful to many, especially those that are a bit shy about asking people. Giving parents and students tips on where they can find sponsors could help them raise even more money. The more people the students and parents ask mean more potential funds for your school.

Students will love to be awarded prizes for their participation in the Read-a-Thon. So make up a list of prizes that will be awarded for each level of number of books that they read.  At one school Read-a-Thon, for every ten dollars the student raised, they earned a dollar to spend at the upcoming Scholastic book fair. Adding in a Scholastic book fair, or other well-known book fair to your Read-a-Thon can be a great idea.

Having the Principal read the students’ names, grade and classes that are in the lead over the intercom would also be a great prize every week for the students to look forward to.

A school Read-a-Thon will getstudents to read more books than they might have otherwise.  It’s a great way to promote reading and raise some funds for your library or school at the same time!