Thanks to Alisha Green from the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for this great report on how their Summer Library Program's Charity Challenge turned out!
I originally wanted to try an
alternative to SLP prizes, but I also knew that not everyone would be in
agreement with eliminating prizes all together. The Charity Challenge
worked nicely as it was presented as another prize option – they could choose
to receive their prize (a coupon for free ice cream, for example) or they could
“donate” their prize to the chosen charity. Yes, more kids chose the ice
cream than not, but there were many kids who chose to donate some, if not all
of their prizes throughout the summer to the charity! And they were so
proud to do so. Teens put their Book Bucks toward the Charity Challenge
goal as well.
|
The check is delivered! |
In addition to being a prize
alternative, kids and teens could contribute to the charity by completing a
number of literacy activities (encouraging the literacy goals of the Summer
Library Program!) such as telling a favorite story from another character’s
point of view, putting on a puppet show, creating a wordless picture book,
singing their favorite song or nursery rhyme, etc. There was also a place
in Youth Services where they could display poems or short stories they wrote
for others to read. Each time they completed a literacy activity or
donated their prize they could put a sticker on a large display. This was
a nice visual to see their progress toward reaching the goal….and they met
it!! Charter Bank, the sponsor for our program, agreed to donate up to
$500 to the charity based on the literacy activities completed by SLP
participants.
The chosen charity was the
Give-A-Kid-A-Book Project, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, which distributes books
during the holiday season to children in the community who might not otherwise
have books to call their own. This charity tied in perfectly with the
Summer Library Program. The sponsoring bank, our chosen charity, Youth
Services staff and library patrons were all thrilled with the success of our
first Charity Challenge and we all agreed to offer this again next year!
Labels: charity, reading incentives, summer library program