February is “I Love to Read” Month                

by Mrs. Johnson

“I Love to Read” month, or bulan “Cinta Baca” in Bahasa Indonesia, correlates perfectly with our latest serviceB learning project! Did you know that there is a lack of libraries in the Pekanbaru / Rumbai area? There are five homes scattered throughout the area, which make up  the Cinta Baca Reading Posts. These homes each house a small collection of books and open their doors acouple  of days a week for book checkBout and reading, but they  could use our help! We are hoping to provide financial support to Pelangi Harapan, the organization that sponsors the Cinta Baca Reading Posts. For around $400,  a new reading post could be started in a new area, which  includes 200 Bahasa books, the basic cabinet, and training for a local facilitator.

One way we are achieving this goal, is through our Book Sale, which is happening on Fridays, Feb. 1st and 8th. Another event we are encouraging students to participate in is our ISR  Read-a-thon!

What do you need to do to participate? It’s easy!

1. Help your child set his or her own reading goal. For younger students, perhaps they could read or be read to for 15 minutes a day. For older students, 30 minutes a day would be an attainable goal. You know your child best and can individualize based on your child's ability.

2. Please help your children) obtain sponsorship by family and friends based on the number of minutes they read during the month of February. Your sponsors can decide on the amount per minute, or they can donate a set amount if your child meets or exceeds his or her reading goal. You’ll want to keep track of this on the Sponsor Form.

3. Log your child’s reading minutes on the Read-a-thon Tracking Sheet throughout the month.

4. Return the Read-a-thon sponsor form and donations inside  the marked envelope to ISR by March 8^th.

Have more questions about the Read-a-thon? Please contact Tiffany Johnson. Have more questions about the Cinta Baca Reading Posts? Please contact Ailsa Liu, or check out their website http://www.cintabaca.com.

Thank you for your generous participation in this year’s Read-a-thonwhich will support hundreds of Indonesian readers!

Happy Reading!