SMART Reading

Are you or someone you know interested in joining the SMART Team? Be sure to apply to our Program Manager position by this Friday, June 14th, to be considered for the first round of interviews!

Last month, we had the joy of celebrating our Portland area Site Coordinators, Book Bank stewards, and a few other special honorees at a volunteer appreciation event! It was great to hear speeches from SMART staff, raffle off amazing prizes and honor our Volunteers of the Year. Thank you to everyone who could join us! Special thanks to Michael Keo for the lovely photos!

We're currently looking for a Program Manager to join our Rogue Valley team! To be considered for first-round interviews, please apply by June 14, 2024. If you or someone you know is interested, click here to apply: https://buff.ly/3wZ3P23 [id: Purple image with pink, dark green, and lime green circles. In the dark green circle, there is information about hiring a Program Manager and where to apply and find more information.]

As an organization, we always enjoy hearing the stories of the students and parents that we serve as well as the amazing teachers that we work with. Today we'd like to highlight a quote from a teacher from Jackson Elementary School in Medford! [id: Quote from a teacher on a pink background with bright green quotation marks and dotted lines in the corners of the image.]

Join us on Thursday, May 9th at 9:00 AM PST for our upcoming webinar The State of Reading: Oregon’s Literacy Crisis & How SMART is Helping. Together we'll discuss the concerning literacy rates in Oregon and how SMART Reading, among other organizations, are doubling down on their efforts and using science-based strategies to provide kids with proven strategies for reading success! Click here to register: https://buff.ly/3UuyiNd

Secure discounted tickets to one of the Timbers biggest matchups of the season! A portion of each ticket purchased through this offer will be donated directly to SMART Reading, an amazing local non-profit here in Oregon. You can learn more about their organization and the work they do here https://smartreading.org/

Our partner @PNC is celebrating the 20th anniversary of #PNCGrowUpGreat in April. We had the joy of hosting them for a special book-cleaning session at our Book Bank, where the PNC staff helped us clean stacks of books! We’re grateful for their support and we're excited to redistribute the books they cleaned to local kids. To learn more about the Grow Up Great program, visit https://buff.ly/2WIxip2 [id: Group photo of PNC staff holding up kids' books in front of bookshelves. The second photo is of PNC staff sitting at tables while SMART staff member, Jessica stands at the front starting the book cleaning session.]

We're excited to announce that we're searching for a Development Officer to join our Portland-Metro team! If you or someone you know is interested, click here to learn more: https://buff.ly/3Olobb7 To be considered for first-round interviews, please apply by May 3, 2024. [id: Pink image with purple, dark green, and lime green circles. In the large purple circle, there is information about hiring for a Development Officer and where to apply and find more information.]

Last month, we held our For The Love of Books fundraiser, where community members joined us in raising money for SMART. Together, we were able to raise over $55,000, that's 5,000 dollars more than our goal! We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated, hosted a fundraiser page, or shared about the fundraiser. We'd also like to thank our amazing sponsor, The Standard! We truly couldn't have done it without you and together we will provide new and exciting books to kids in Oregon! 📖 ❤️ [id: Green background with a photo of two children reading. Below the photo, there is white text that says "Thank you!" In the top right of the photo, there is the For The Love of Books Logo. There are small doodles surrounding the photo and the logo.]

Take a look, it’s in a book! 🌈📚 Reading is a foundational skill that unlocks a world of knowledge and opportunity. This #NationalReadingMonth we encourage everyone to get involved with your local book bank, library, or literacy organization. Some of our favorites are SMART Reading in Oregon, New Haven Reads in Connecticut, and the Little Free Library in Rochester, NY! Check out how we partner with these groups to promote literacy across the country: https://lnkd.in/d4jyk2Mq