On October 9, 2008, Reading Is Fundamental traveled to East Los Angeles to hold a special read aloud event at Joseph A. Gascon Elementary featuring award winning children's book author Amada Irma Perez.

During the week of August 17, 2009, Reading Is Fundamental, Communities In Schools New Orleans, the National PTA, and Macy's partnered together in the spirit of President Obama's United We Serve initiative to bring the joy of reading to 2,500 children currently living in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Executive Director, RIF of Southern California, Carol Henault comes to Reading Is Fundamental’s “regional gathering” and tells us how we can make a difference when we volunteer at RIF. Click here to see how you can join their efforts to bring literacy into the lives of children all across Los Angeles county.

Dr. Paula Powers, reading specialist and a local inspiration at Yorkshire Elementary School dressed as “the Cat In the Hat” to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Children of all grades were treated to every Dr. Seuss story imaginable from Fox In Socks to The Lorax. Click here to see the powers Paula has over the children! Reaching a largely Hispanic population her stories in English and Spanish engage children of every grade.

Norma Graham is a legendary RIF Coordinator. Her dedication to her community and the children she serves is truly a wonder to behold. Not only did she survive Hurricane Katrina’s wrath, but she ensured the survival of her RIF program as well. A retired teacher of 34 years, Graham is a Coordinator for RIF’s Gulf Coast Community Action Program. After having received an emergency contract extension from RIF, Norma held her first post Katrina RIF distribution on the beleaguered Gulf Coast in February 2006. With joyous intonations she recalled the children’s delight at the distribution, “They were so happy to see the books, and very anxious to choose their own book.” Many of those youngsters would soon be gone from Gulf Port. Of the few possessions that they took with them were the books that they received at the first post-Katrina book distribution on the Gulf Coast.

Local sorority partner Kappa Kappa Gamma helped RIF volunteers Lise Nielsen and Missy Garcia at Fischer Elementary School in New Orleans fund an “April Fools Literacy Fair.” Activities for the kids were spectacular and included an alphabet scavenger hunt, a read-aloud of a new children’s picture book Goodnight NOLA by Cornell P. Landry , book distribution so each child left with a new book of their own to keep, letter necklace making activities, sing-alongs, and many other funs activities tied to the books the Coordinators read to the children.

The children of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Long Beach were recently treated to an afternoon of multicultural read-alouds by RIF of Southern California and the Macy’s of Lakewood Partners in Time volunteers. Krairob Phaithoon, the Macy’s Lakewood Sales Associate who raised more than $3,000 for RIF during Macy’s annual Book A Brighter Future campaign, and his colleagues read to children and donated a multicultural book collection to the school library. They saw the true joy of reading on the children’s faces as they enjoyed small group read-alouds and the opportunity to select a free book. As the community volunteers left, RIF Coordinator Sheila Gibbons and the kids gave them the school cheer with a big thank you and a rousing shout out to them, “You are the Scholars!”

Community Day at FESTIBA, (Festival of International Books and Arts) at the University of Texas-Pan American was a showcase of Reading Is Fundamental in action. Macy’s Partners In Time volunteers came to read to the children and create sombreros and maracas tied to the story, J.D. Smith’s The Best Mariachi in the World. RIF staff engaged hundreds of kids and their parents with bilingual read-alouds and beautiful new books. Volunteers from Congressman Rubén Hinojosa to children’s book authors came to the RIF tent to celebrate the community and the day.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) stole the show at the 25th Annual Miami Book Fair International! RIF opened the festival with a tent that created a “Reading Jungle.” Complete with parrots, vines, and palms, RIF conducted bilingual read-alouds of The Parrot Tico Tango/El Loro Tico Tango by Anne Witte and Wild About Books by Judy Sierra in a “jungle reading corner.” After the readings, children were given a free book and created puppets of their favorite character from the story.

Barbara, a 2009 RIF Volunteer of the year, coordinates the RIF program with the Delta Lambda chapter and leads 90 volunteers, many of whom are retired, back into the classroom three times a year for RIF. Group members pride themselves on making sure every classroom from kindergarten to grade 3 has a great book read aloud on distribution day. The excitement of these read-alouds was felt when a 2nd-grade class at Del Rey Woods Elementary didn’t take their eyes off of the reader. Throughout the event, thank you notes and banners kept being delivered to Barbara, one even arriving on a silver tray with a red rose (the official flower of DKG).

Proudly celebrating 15 years of RIF, the Estill County Board of Education RIF Program is championed by 2009 VOYA recipient Elrene “Elke” Davis. For a recent group of visitors, Elke shared an authentic Appalachian read-aloud, made a special RIF book delivery to scores of happy 3rd-graders, held a book distribution at Clifford the Big Red Dog’s house, and introduce them to generations of RIF kids. By day’s end, they had visited four schools and heard countless stories of fun literacy moments from a large and enthusiastic group of teachers, school administrators, RIF kids, and RIF volunteers. Elke clearly loves books and shares her passion with the whole community.

At Falkville Elementary School, they don’t do RIF book distributions—they do RIF parties! A recent party came complete with a book selection, a lei for each child, Hawaiian music, and a tropical snack. Each child walked away with a handmade bookmark that read “Aloha Reader.” RIF Coordinator Jalonda Smith, a 2009 RIF Volunteer of the Year, explained to the children that aloha is Hawaiian for both “hello” and “goodbye.” The event was a big hello to RIF today and goodbye to the school year with the hopes that every child would read this summer.

Univision RIF PSA featuring Neida Sandoval.

RIF and Macy's are proud to partner for a fourth year to provide books and literacy services to children across the U.S. through the Book A Brighter Future (BABF) campaign. From July 1 through August 31, when Macy's customers give a $3 donation to RIF, they will receive a $10 shopping pass to use on eligible purchases of $50 or more.

The Read with Kids Challenge is back! Visit http://www.rif.org/readwith to log your time spent reading with kids and help us reach our new goal to log over 5 million minutes!

Watch this short video to learn how you and your little one can make your very own touch and feel book. Visit us at http://www.leadingtoreading.com for more activity videos you can enjoy with your child!

RIF has teamed up with Macy's to create a national partnership, "Book A Brighter Future!"

RIF has reached a major milestone in the process to save RIF's funding. The House appropriations subcommittee and the Senate appropriations committee have included level funding for RIF amongst proposed allocations for fiscal year 2009. There are more critical milestones before Congress approves the final Fiscal Year 2009 budget. We thank you for your continued support and will keep you informed. For the latest updates, stay tuned to rif.org.

Reading Is Fundamental and qubo PSA encouraging parents and caregivers to read with their children.

Oscar Cux, RIF's Volunteer of the Year 2007, offers tips for engaging young readers and their parents to encourage them to read together. To learn more about RIF, VOYA, and Osar Cux visit http://www.rif.org