Keep reading! The fundraiser runs through the end of the month

We hope that your child is reading up a storm as part of the Read-to-Feed charity fundraiser—a read-a-thon that raises money for impoverished families around the world.

As we approach the end of the fundraiser, please keep in mind:

• That your child should continue reading and keeping track of her/his reading until the end of February.
  
• After February 29th, your child should collect the pledges from their sponsors—in the form of checks if at all possible. Checks should be made payable to “Heifer International: Read to Feed”.
  
• Put the pledge checks into the white Read-to-Feed envelope that went home earlier in the month, and place it into the Read-to-Feed folder hanging in each classroom by March 7th.
  
• After we gather all of the pledges, all participants will decide what type of livestock we would like to buy for families in need. We plan to do this by posting an online poll on this web site.
  

World Map of Underweight Children

Here's a map from the World Mapper project. In this data visualization, territory size in the map shows the proportion of all underweight children in the world that live there. See the map page for more detail.

"Poor nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death." Jean-Louis Sarbib, 2006

Read a book, feed a family!

What just one chicken can provide to a poor family...

We hope by now your child has decided to participate in the Read-to-Feed charity fundraiser—a read-a-thon that raises money for impoverished families around the world.

Heifer International, a non-profit organization, takes the money we earn and provides “living loans” of animals to families in need who then “repay” the loan by giving one or more of their animal’s offspring to another family in need. Did you know that starting at six months, a healthy hen can lay up to 200 eggs per year? This provides a reliable source of protein for those children who otherwise would live mostly on starches. Extra eggs can be sold to pay for school, clothes, and medicine. Just a little bit of assistance from us can make a significant difference in lives of families in another part of the world.

If you’d like to learn more about the fundraiser, please check out this web site (especially the instructions) or send your questions to ruhabell@yahoo.com.

Library Books about What Life is Like in Other Parts of the World

We hope by now your Thornton Creek child has decided to participate in the Read-to-Feed charity fundraiser—a read-a-thon that raises money for impoverished families around the world. But if you need to learn more about the fundraiser, please check out this blog and the instructions linked off on the right -- or send your questions to ruhabell@yahoo.com.

Is your child looking for book suggestions that will help her/him learn about how people live in other parts of the world? We now have a display of books in the library that might be of special interest to readers participating in the Heifer International fundraiser. You’ll find the books on shelves immediately to your right as you enter the library through the east door. We’ll continue to add new books throughout the month, so keep checking it out! (Thanks to Ken for giving us the space in the library and to Beth, mom of Lucius in room 1, for making it happen!).