Read-A-Thon: A Flagship Reading Event By Room To Read India Across 12 States Across India

* “Books, to the reading child, are so much more than books- they are dreams and knowledge, they are a future  and a past.”- Esther Meynell

Room to Read India, as part of its India Gets Reading  flagship reading campaign, is organizing and running the  "Read-a-thon" event today. The event aims to reach far and wide across the country with enhanced participation by all stakeholders, including children, parents, communities, government, donors, multilateral partners like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other supporters. This year’s Read-a-thon is an ambitious record-setting attempt by Room to Read India, where they aim to bring in a record number of participants in an in-person setting. The participants will be organized to read at multiple locations across the country including 12 states where it has active intervention.

This Read-a-thon will create an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together in spaces such as school premises, communities, government offices, donor offices, etc., and pledge their support towards children’s reading and learning. Ms. Poornima Garg, Deputy Country Director, Room to Read says, “This year’s reading campaign is themed on ‘Reading Equals’. It is an  opportunity for all stakeholders to drop all other activities, come together and just  READ for 30 minutes at a stretch at a predetermined time. Through this record setting event, we also want to reaffirm our commitment to ensure that children everywhere read, learn, and thrive”.

It is the goal of Room to Read India, to mobilize as many people as possible to support the promotion of reading habits through this Read-a-thon. In addition, the event is expected to set an official record for the number of participants reading multiple literature pieces at the same time. India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records will incorporate the record-setting gathering into their books.

About Room to Read?:

Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in twelve states – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communi­ties and ensuring these outcomes are measured, we have created a model that can be replicated, localized, and sustained by governments. With its global headquarters in San Francisco, Room to Read has benefited 32 million children across 21 low-income countries.