The Harry Potter Alliance

By scott

September 24, 2008

Help the HPA Encourage Literacy – Read for the Record!

While it may seem simple on the surface, reading a book to a child can be one of the greatest gifts you can provide. It’s hard to overstate how important reading is to a child’s development. Unfortunately, some children do not have access to books, nor do some have people to read to them.

As an organization that came into being due to a series of books, the HP Alliance is in favor of addressing the worldwide problem of child literacy wherever possible. To that effect, we want to make you aware of a special event taking place on Oct. 2, 2008: Read for the Record Day!

Jumpstart, an organization that promotes children’s (especially at-risk children’s) literacy, is sponsoring Read for the Record Day on October 2, 2008. The goal is to break the record for the most people reading the same book on the same day (yes, apparently there is such a record!). Readings can occur in an organized fashion or one-on-one. Some will take place in libraries, schools, and other public gathering places, some readings will be in people’s homes. The specifics are up to you, the idea is to get out and read!

The web site for this event is http://readfortherecord.org. It has ALL of the information you need to get involved. It will help you:

• find a reading event in your community, or start your own
• buy this year’s event book, Corduroy, as a “donation” for Read for the Record Day; 100% of your purchase goes to Jumpstart
• start an online book drive

Now Oct. 2 is approaching fast, but there’s still plenty of time to get set for the big day. You can take part as an individual, with a group of friends or family, or as part of an HP Alliance Chapter. If you need assistance, visit the Read for the Record Web site http://readfortherecord.org. We’d love to see HPA members, and Harry Potter fans everywhere, help break the record!

PS- Have any ideas or suggestions for putting together a reading event on online book drive? Any tips on how to prepare for Oct. 2? Experiences with JumpStart? Thoughts on literacy? Post to the HPA forums!