Reading Camp!

After seven years of leading Reading Camp, our Executive Director, Sarah Harcourt Watts, is moving on from the organization to return to teaching. We are going to pause our programming while we reassess the role and programs of Reading Camp and make plans for future leadership. We are grateful for each of our supporters and participants that have made our work possible! Reading rocks!

Wow! Over 1,200 books are sorted and headed to Hindman tomorrow! Thank you to all of our generous donors, including the Lexington Public Library!

Today is book collection day!

10 am to 2 pm at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 2025 Bellefonte Dr., Lexington, KY

This Friday, Reading Camp will give away books at Hindman Settlement School, which is currently a center of Eastern Kentucky flood relief for some of the hardest hit areas.

Josh Mullins, Senior Director, Program Development & Implementation at Hindman Settlement School writes, "I think (a book giveaway) would be a wonderful thing to do for families who have lost it all. Our public library has also lost everything and our own school library is nearly completely lost as well."

On Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm, we will collect donations of new and gently used books at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 2025 Bellefonte Dr., Lexington, KY 40503. The following books are needed:

Baby and Toddler Books
Children's Books
Young Adult Books
New activity and coloring books with crayons

Any books not distributed on Friday will be donated to begin rebuilding the school's library.

This Friday, Reading Camp will give away books at Hindman Settlement School, which is currently a center of Eastern Kentucky flood relief for some of the hardest hit areas.

Josh Mullins, Senior Director, Program Development & Implementation at Hindman Settlement School writes, "I think (a book giveaway) would be a wonderful thing to do for families who have lost it all. Our public library has also lost everything and our own school library is nearly completely lost as well."

On Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm, we will collect donations of new and gently used books at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 2025 Bellefonte Dr., Lexington, KY 40503. The following books are needed:

Baby and Toddler Books
Children's Books
Young Adult Books
New activity and coloring books with crayons

Any books not distributed on Friday will be donated to begin rebuilding the school's library.

Reading Camp has distributed books to 162 kids this week through our Pops in the Park book giveaways in partnership with Lexington Parks and Recreation and Legacy Grove in Winchester! Thanks to all who made it happen!

We need a few more good guys to help our Bad Guys Reading Camp run smoothly this summer!

Reading Camp! updated their address.

Our programs are FREE for the families we serve because of amazing support like this!

We are SO proud of Layla! She’s a former camper and a current volunteer and Reading Camp Steering Commitee member.

It's senior spotlight time! 🎓 Congratulations to FCPS senior Layla Angeles Plakosh, who is graduating from STEAM Academy and participated in the Kentucky Senate Page Program! 📘 She plans to study Mathematical Economics at the University of Kentucky! She is looking forward to starting college in the fall and a celebratory trip to Washington, D.C. following graduation!
❤️ from Layla's family: "Congratulations Layla! We are so proud of you!"

Reading Camp has spaces left in our free summer programs! Is your child a good fit? If they are entering 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade next school year and are behind in reading, you are welcome to apply for Reading Camp!

We are a non-profit offering free day camps that help build reading skills and confidence! Application and teacher form are in the comments. Apply soon, as spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

We are so excited to share that Reading Camp will return to in-person camps this summer! We will also have an online option available.

We hope that you'll consider volunteering! More information is attached and the volunteer application can be found here: https://forms.gle/yJ4k8L1WZqywjWcz8

Reading Camp is hiring for a seasonal position to support our summer programs! The link below includes both the job description and the application. Feel free to share!

https://forms.gle/8PZ89EsZuzxWEzye9

The is live until 11:59 PM tonight! Gift to show your support of reading for Kentucky kids! 

https://www.bggives.org/readingcamp

Thank you so much to all of you who have given the gift of reading to Kentucky kids through the ! If you haven't had a chance, it's not too late! The Challenge runs through 11:59 PM tonight!

Start your weekend with some giving! Help us change lives.
https://www.bggives.org/readingcamp

This weekend's GoodGiving Challenge RUNDOWN! The fun continues!

9am Dec. 4 – 9pm Dec. 5: Mitchell Family Foundation + Lewis Bizzack Family Fund $50,000 Fast Break Challenge
The first 10 nonprofits to raise $5,000 win a $2,500 match prize! Then the next 25 nonprofits to raise $2,500 win a $1,000 match prize!

Get ready. Get set. GIVE! ➡️ http://www.BGgives.org

Help out reading camp! Make sure to follow directions in the original post!

CONTEST CLOSED! Tune in to our Facebook Live at 3pm today to learn how to enter the next social media sweepstakes!

That's right, we're doing ANOTHER $250 GIVEAWAY! Here we go!

You could win $250 for the participating nonprofit of your choice in the 2021 GoodGiving Challenge!

LIKE the BGCF page, LIKE this post, and COMMENT an answer to the question "Why do you give?" along with the name of the nonprofit you want to support! We love to see enthusiasm behind charitable giving.

Winner will be announced tomorrow. Remember, we put the comments in a random generator to pick a winner. More comments = larger chance to win!

Today's GoodGiving Challenge big event is all about participation!

9am – 9pm: BGCF $35,000 Endowment Challenge
Giving just $25 will help your favorite nonprofit win big prizes!
The nonprofit with the most donors contributing $25 or more will win a $15,000 endowment prize! Second place will win a $10,000 endowment prize, and third place will win a $5,000 endowment prize. Every nonprofit with 50 or more donors of at least $25 will be entered in a drawing for a $5,000 endowment prize!

4pm – 5pm: Happy Hour $2,500 Salomon & Co. Match
50¢ per $1 match on gifts up to $50

Get ready. Get set. GIVE!

We are blown away that over $1,000 dollars has been raised so far. These funds will help fund Camps and Book Give Away events for youth in Kentucky! Continue to share and donate so Reading Camp can reach even more kids this Summer.

https://www.bggives.org/readingcamp

Reading Camp We increase self-confidence and strengthen reading skills of Kentucky 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who are struggling readers. We meet these goals through free, high-quality day camps and after-school book club programs. Our programs include intensive, small-group reading instruction, confidence-buildi...

Help support Reading Camp this Giving Tuesday!

It's Giving Tuesday and the 11th Annual GoodGiving Challenge is FINALLY here! 🎉
Donate to your favorite nonprofits today and your gift can be amplified by the following match challenges:

9am – 9pm: Murry Foundation $100,000 Match
Gifts up to $250 will be matched 50¢ per $1

4pm – 5pm Happy Hour: Mason Companies $5,000 Match
50¢ per $1 match on gifts up to $100

Get ready. Get set. GIVE! ➡️ www.BGgives.org

It's time for the Good Giving Challenge! Consider donating to Reading Camp to support our mission of improving literacy skills in underserved Kentucky children. 📚
Click the link to donate and share!
https://www.bggives.org/readingcamp

Great news! Our t-shirt fundraiser is live! Click below to purchase directly through Bonfire. A portion of the sale of each shirt will go to Reading Camp to help fund our 2022 day camps! Orders are printed as they are placed and should arrive 8 - 14 business days after ordered, so shop today for all of the readers on your holiday list. Click through to see all of the available colors and types!

Reading Camp Shirts | Bonfire Buy Reading Camp Shirts merchandise that supports THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF LEXINGTON. Featuring Heavy Metal Premium Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA.

We have a t-shirt fundraiser coming up and we want to know which design you like best! Vote for your favorite in the comments!

Because of the current COVID rates limiting visitors in public schools, we weren’t able to have our in-person book clubs as planned this semester. Instead, we donated over 200 books to Cardinal Valley Elementary School so more kids can have books to keep at their own homes! No matter what comes next, we will continue to find ways to support literacy for Kentucky kids!

Thanks to all of those who made our summer programs a success! From our volunteers, to parents, to school and parks and recreation staff, to our generous donors, we couldn't have made a summer full of fun and literacy enrichment without you!

If you are a virtual camp participant waiting on your prizes, check your mail next week! In the meantime, have a great start to the new school year!

We had a fantastic day of Pops in the Park in Lexington today! 32 kids picked out new books to keep! Thanks to Lexington Parks and Recreation, our volunteers, and our donors for making this day possible! We’ll be at Green Acres Park tomorrow morning at 10 am to do it all again! Come by and say hi!

Volunteers needed for Pops in the Park!

We are setting up alongside Lexington Parks and Recreation to provide free books and popsicles for kids from babies to teens! It's like a little free book fair, complete with stickers and cool erasers!

We need your help to set up, help kids find the perfect book, and clean up. Please register here for the session of your choice! https://forms.gle/i5RSWWLjVCGuWqVQ9

July 6, 10 - 12:30 Dunbar Center
July 6, 2 - 4:30 Charles Young Park
July 7, 10 - 12:30 Green Acres
July 7, 2 - 4:30 Martin Luther King Park