Read Generously

During the gift-giving holidays, many people give to charity. Children may want to hold their own fund-raiser – a read-a-thon.

Suggest that children hold a read-a-thon to raise money for, appropriately enough, new children's books. The books can be earmarked for a local toy drive, a children's hospital, a refugee program, or some other charity the children want to support.

Here's how a read-a-thon works: The children agree to read as many books as they can during a set period of time, say the month before Christmas or the eight days of Hanukkah. They solicit pledges – an amount for each book or for every a number of pages - from grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and other adults they know well.

The honor system goes into effect as the children keep a reading log to track their progress. At the end of the set period, they report back to their list of pledges to request payment and say thank you.

Take the children to a bookstore and let them make the book selections themselves. Tell the manager what they're up to, just in case the store gives a discount on charitable purchases. If possible, have your children deliver the books to the person in charge of distributing them.