December 2023 Newsletter
Letter from the Executive Director
Our last newsletter of 2023! We are thrilled to announce a number of exciting developments: we formed a partnership with the Portland Boys and Girls Club to conduct a Reading Buddies pilot in the Spring of 2024, we were a grant recipient three times over this month and we are finalizing plans to expand our work into California in March of 2024.
Looking ahead into 2024, we have a laser focus on infrastructure and capacity development. 80% of our time and energy will be spend on grant writing, onboarding a full-time staff member, growing the OKR Reading Buddies program and expanding our high school and college internship programs. The remaining 20% of our efforts will be invested in Free Book Festivals and Read-a-Thons across the country.
We are excited to continue to collaborate with you all in 2024 to magnify our impact and reach twice as many students as we did in 2023. Peace and blessings and the happiest of holidays!
Warmest Regards,
Jahmal Lake
Executive Director, Our Kids Read
Featured Stories
EVENT: OKR SPOTLIGHTS IBI ZABOI IN NYC HOLIDAY LITERACY CELEBRATION
Families living at the WIN shelter in Harlem, NY received over 300 books during this event. Simi and Fitz did an amazing job of storytelling and West African drumming, keeping the young folks enthralled and adults equally entertained.
PETRUCCI FAMILY FOUNDATION RENEWS SUPPORT FOR A 3RD YEAR
Jerome Bettis’ The Bus Stops Here Foundation invited OKR back to Pittsburgh, PA for a second straight year to participate in their annual holiday gift giveaway at Twin Rivers Elementary. OKR brought over 300 books and gave all of them away.
Save the Dates
We welcome volunteers at our Free Book Festivals. To protect that safety of the students in our partner schools, there is a criminal background screening and volunteer training process. SAVE THE DATE if you would like to volunteer!
March 1st, 2024
Free Book Festival @ Glenmount Elementary School, Baltimore, MD
March 8th, 2024
Free Book Festival @ Mosser Elementary School, Allentown, PA
March 18th, 2024
Free Book Festival @ Amber Charter School, Harlem, NY
March 22nd, 2024
Free Book Festival @ WLCAC, Watts, CA
May 23rd, 2024
Princeton University Reunions Literacy Event, Princeton, NJ
OKR Updates in 60 Seconds
Free Book Festivals
- WIN Shelter, Harlem, NY, Dec 15th, 2023
- Twin Rivers Elementary, Pittsburgh, PA, Dec 16th, 2023
- Harlem Holiday Literacy Extravaganza, Dec 21st, 2023
Partnerships
- Kicking off Reading Buddies pilot with Portland Boys & Girls Club (Feb 2024)
- Hidden Valley Elementary, NC (2nd year)
- Continuing partnerships with CAEC Columbus and Storefront Academy NY
- Glenmount (Baltimore), Mosser (Allentown) and WLCAC (Watts) join the network
Grants and Awards
- R Karalakulasingam Family Foundation grant
- Myers Park United Methodist Church Grant
- A Jackson Neighbor Foundation Unrestricted Grant
- Lehigh Valley Health Network Microgrant
- N Williams Microgrant (Charlotte, NC)
Corporate Partners & Sponsors
- NFL Black Employee Network (March 18th event)
- Verizon SOMOS (Dec 15th WIN event)
- The Bus Stops Here Foundation (Dec 16th event)
- Morgan Stanley Baltimore Offices
- Home Depot (Baltimore event support)
Featured Articles
A Look Back: Ragnarok Technologies Unflagging Support
Ragnarok Technologies, based in Reston, VA, has been a consistent supporter since 2022. Their recent event at Guildford Elementary School resulted in 350 books going home with students.
OKR Kicks off Partnership with Princeton Internship Program
Princeton University accepted OKR into their Princeternship program! Three students will be joining us for the next 6 weeks as interns: Jerry Atunku ’27, Jules Regan ’25 and Alena Zhang, ‘27.
Students Find a Connection with the OKR Mission
Special thanks to Jace Brett ’28 and Francesca Lamattina ’26 for their support. Rem & Co. also brought fresh new perspectives from Princeton’s campus.
Partners and Donors
As we approach the end of 2023, a special thanks to the following corporate and foundation partners and sponsors:
Petrucci Family Foundation
The Petrucci Foundation was our first donor in 2022. Since then, their annual support has enabled over 16 Free Book Festivals.
Microsoft
Microsoft employees donated over 300 hours reading with students, translating into over $7,500 in matching funds.
Nike
OKR and Nike partnered for two Read-a-Thons and a Free Book Festival at Nike Global HQ.
NFL Black Employees Network (BEN)
Planning a March 2024 Free Book Festival at Amber Charter School in Harlem.
Support Our Kids Read
Ways to support Our Kids Read in 2024:
- • Give a gift at ourkidsread.org
- • Purchase books on our Amazon List
- • Volunteer as a Reading Buddy at ourkidsread.org/volunteer