Hello All,
Pueblo's One Million Dollar Reading Challenge: Reading Pays has come to an end and we are working to get final vouchers out to all September participants. Reading Pays was a lot of work that resulted in a great impact within our community. I want to extend a huge "thank you" to all PCCLD staff who helped make this program successful. Spending $1 million is a great opportunity but to spend it in a responsible, organized, and impactful way requires a lot of work and as an organization we put in the work to make it happen! THANK YOU!
As a result, the Reading Pays program awarded 7,074 youths a $100 prize for their reading activities. We had an additional 356 students complete the program twice and receive prizes in lieu of a second $100 payment. A combined total of 7,430 youths completing this year's version of summer reading is a big accomplishment. Because of this program, $707,400 will go into the pockets of children who earned money through staying engaged and reading. Additional funds will be given to students who opened a minor savings account as part of this program. Our completion total of 7,430 greatly exceeds the average number of those who finished the program in recent years by a whopping 500%.
YEAR:SRP Completions
2020:109
2019: 1,829
2018: 1,928
2017: 967
2016: 967
2015: 2,070
2014: 1,888
2013:1,586
Average:1,418
2021: 7,430
Reading Pays substantially helped re-engage PCCLD with young people locally during a difficult time, and feedback received from the public has been overwhelmingly positive. The program encouraged young people to participate in literacy activities by checking out library materials and submitting a reading prompt, and it assisted in improving PCCLD circulation of library materials year-over-year by 52% this summer.
If you'd like to review the totals by branch and by month, please view the link below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ewJUU68x9t2CE2cbXkqXtQo4Lrpld68DclFoTRfU0dw/edit#gid=0
Congratulations to you all for pulling off this great program! Thank you for all of your efforts!
Have a great weekend!
