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Read-a-thon Overview
The BCE Read-a-thon promotes literacy and a lifelong love of reading while raising much-needed funds for our Burlingame TK - eighth grade public schools. Students read, fundraise and win prizes while engaging their parents, family and community to show support by making supporting donations.
The Read-a-thon goal is for each child to raise $150 or more during the Read-a-thon. If we are successful, this would result in over $500,000 for our Burlingame Public Schools! Learn more about fundraising and/or make a supporting donation today.
While the reading part of the Read-a-thon lasts 5 days (Monday, Jan 27 - Friday, Jan 31), a lot happens before, during and following the Read-a-thon making this annual event a fan favorite. Keep reading for all you need to know!
Getting Ready for the Read-a-thon (Jan 7th - Jan 26th):
Set a Reading and Fundraising Goal: Help your reader set goals for the Read-a-thon. How many pages, minutes or books do they hope to read? How much to they hope to raise for their school?
Start Fundraising: Donations can be made directly to the BCE Read-a-thon Website and/or your student can create their own personal fundraising page to share with their friends and family. Fundraising begins in mid December 2024 and continues until Feb 3rd, 2025. It's a best practice is to start fundraising before the Read-a-thon starts to maximize your chance for winning prizes!
Build a Reading List: Start selecting books to read. Be sure to check out your local public library and school library.
Review the Read-a-thon Prizes with your Student: One of the best parts of the Read-a-thon is the opportunity to win prizes for reading and fundraising. This year we have 3 raffles in addition to prizes for top readers and fundraisers.
Attend the Library Kick off Event: Sunday, Jan 26th 1-3pm. Get excited for the Read-a-thon. Get help creating you fundraising pages. Choose books for the week ahead. Shop the Children's book sale.
Follow BCE on Instagram: We'll be sharing reading ideas and inspiration from our Burlingame teachers and staff!
Read-a-thon Week (Jan 27th - Jan 31st)
Read, Read, Read: Students are encouraged to read all week long. Let them get lost in a book and find their love of reading. This can look like reading a book, looking at picture books, reading online or with a kindle, being read to, listening to an audiobook, etc. All forms of media count! All students and their families are encouraged to join in on the reading fun!
Fundraise: Engage parents, family and friends to show their support for your student by making a donation in their name. Help your child solicit donations which can be made directly to the BCE Read-a-thon Website and/or your student can create their own personal fundraising page to share with their friends and family.
Track your Reading Daily: Students should track their days and minutes read at home and submit them online once the Read-a-thon is over. Download a minute tracker to use if helpful!
Attend Events: In person and zoom events are scheduled to celebrate reading! Some are district wide and some are school specific. We hope you will join us! Event Schedule below.
Follow BCE on Instagram: We'll be sharing reading ideas and inspiration from our Burlingame teachers and staff!
Post Read-a-thon Week (Feb 1st - 6th)
Submit your Reading Minutes Online: Be sure to submit your days and minutes read online to be counted for prizes. All minutes must be entered by Monday, Feb 3rd @9pm to be considered for final prizes.
Final Fundraising: Encourage final donations to help your student maximize raffle and prize entries. All donations received by Monday, Feb 3rd @9pm count towards prizes.
Prize Winners Announced: Prize and Raffle Winners will be announced by Thursday, Feb 6th
Special thanks to our long time Read-a-thon Sponsor
Fundraising
The Read-a-thon is BCE's district wide fundraiser that encourages students to read and fundraise. Participation in the Read-a-thon is measured by both reading and fundraising. Students are encouraged to ask parents, family and friends to support them with a sponsoring donation while they read. Students are eligible for prizes and drawing entries based on their fundraising. Read-a-thon Fundraising begins in December and runs through Feb 3rd. All donations are tax deductible.
Every student is encouraged to solicit at least one donation with a goal of fundraising $150 or more for their school. Raffle entries and prizes determined based on fundraising amounts as well as reading participation. See below for more details on prizes and raffles.
Students can fundraise by:
Creating and sharing a personal fundraising page.
Sharing the BCE Read-a-thon Webpage.
Sharing their School Read-a-thon Website BIS Franklin Hoover Lincoln McKinley Roosevelt Washington.
Collecting physical donations and bringing them to their school secretary's office.
To Create a Personal Fundraising Page:
Note: You will receive a confirmation email with your personalized fundraising page URL and a link to edit your page. (you will want to save this email should you need to edit your page in the future.)
Step by Step instructions on how to create, edit and share your personal fundraising page can be found here. And example fundraising emails and texts can be found here.
Minute Tracking
Students are encouraged to set a personal reading goal and read as much as they can during the Read-a-thon. Students track their days and minutes read at home (we have a great minute tracker you can use if helpful) and at the end of the Read-a-thon, all minutes and days read should be logged online. Be sure to log total days and minutes read online by 9pm PST on Monday, February 3rd to be eligible for prizes.
Students will self report their reading in their classes. This should help foster more dialog and discussion around what students are reading.
Note: Logging minutes online at the end of the week vs. every night is something we are trying new this year. This change was made based on parent feedback. We hope it makes it easier to enjoy the Read-a-thon week.
Prizes & Raffles
Students are eligible for prizes and raffles based on their Read-a-thon reading and fundraising! Please review prizes and raffles below! Any questions, contact info@bcefoundation.org.
Raffles
Early Bird Raffle: One lucky winner per elementary school & one lucky winner per grade at BIS will win a $50 Gigglemugs gift card. Students will earn 1 entry for every $50 in donations they receive by end of day on Sunday, January 26th. Winner will be announced on Monday, Jan 27th.
Mid-Week Raffle: One lucky winner per elementary school and one lucky winner per grade at BIS will win a TBD prize. Students will earn 1 entry for every $50 in donations received in their name by end of day on Wednesday, January 29th. Winners will be announced on Thursday, Jan 30th.
Grand Prize Raffle - One lucky winner per elementary school and one lucky winner per grade at BIS will have the opportunity to pick from (1) Beats Wireless headphones, (2) Top Golf Gift Certificate, (3) GiggleMugs Gift Certificate
Entries awarded based on donations received by Monday, February 3rd @9pm PST.
$150+ of donations: 1 entries
$300+ of donations: 3 entries
$500+ of donations: 6 entries
$750+ of donations: 10 entries
Bonus entry will be given if a student read all 5 days and has raised at least $150!
Elementary School Prizes
School Wide
Read-a-thon Superstars: All 5 day readers who raise at least $150+ for their school will have their photo taken with the principal for the yearbook.
Read-a-thon SuperStars Raffle: Each 5 days reader who has $150+ in donations will receive one entry to win a free chessboard. Donated by Grupology.
Top Class Participation Award: The class with the highest percent of students both reading and fundraising will win extra recess!
Teacher Award: The Teacher of the class with the highest percent of students who both read and fundraise will receive a $100 gift card.
Grade Level
5 Day Reader Raffle. One lucky 5 day reader (who has at least one donation) will have their name put in a book in their school library.
Class Level
5 Day Reader Raffle. One lucky 5 day reader (who has at least one donation) will receive a free chess class at Grupology.
Top Fundraiser (measured by $ raised) in each class will win a Maverick Jack's Milkshake Gift Certificate!
BIS Level Prizes
School Wide
Read-a-thon Superstars: All 5 day Readers who raise at least $150 for their school will have their photo taken with the principal for the yearbook.
Grade Level
Top Homeroom Participation Award: The homeroom in each grade with the highest percent of students both reading and fundraising will win a breakfast!
Homeroom Teacher Participation Award: The teacher of the homeroom in each grade with the highest participation will receive a $100 gift card of their choice.
5 Day Reader Raffle. One lucky 5 day reader per grade (who has at least one donation) will receive a free chessboard from Grupology and have their name put in a book in the BIS library!
Top Fundraisers (measured by $ raised) The top 5 fundraisers in each grade will receive a gift certificate to TBD
All prize winners will be decided by Thursday, February 6th 2025. All minutes and donations received by 9pm PST on Monday, February 3rd will be used for prize and drawing criteria. If you are donating outside of the Read-a-thon website, please contact info@bcefoundation.org to be included in the prize and drawing criteria.
THANKS TO OUR READ-A-THON PRIZE SPONSORS
Events
Hope to see you at these fun events during Read-a-thon Week!
Sun, Jan 26th, 1-3pm: Kick off event at Burlingame Public Library. Volunteers will be available to help with setting up a fundraising page and answering questions. Be sure to check out the Library's children's book sale and check out books while you are there!
Mon, Jan 27th - Fri, Jan 31st, 3-6pm: Burgers & Books at Maverick Jack's - Bring a book and share that you're a part of the Read-a-thon and receive 10% off your order!
Mon, Jan 27th: Washington
Tue, Jan 28th: Franklin & Hoover
Wed, Jan 29th: Lincoln & McKinley
Thur, Jan 30th: Roosevelt
Frid, Jan 31st: BIS
Thu, Jan 30th, 7-7:30pm: Zoom Bedtime Story with TBD
FAQs
What is the BCE Read-a-thon?
The BCE Read-a-thon is similar in concept to a Walk-a-thon, but instead of exercising their bodies, our students will be exercising their brains by reading and tracking how many minutes they read. This fundraiser involves no selling of products, only asking for sponsoring donations from friends and family. The number of days and minutes each student reads and the amount of sponsoring donations a student receives will go towards the chance to win prizes!
Why a Read-a-thon?
The Read-a-thon is BCE’s annual friends and family fundraiser. All students and families are invited and encouraged to participate in reading and soliciting donations to support their Burlingame schools. Donations collected from the Read-a-thon contribute to the grant BCE makes to the Burlingame School District annually to fund teacher salaries and create a rich and inspiring education for our children beyond what is possible with public funds. All Read-a-thon donations are tax deductible.
How does the Read-a-thon work?
Students fundraise before, during and after our week of reading. They can collect donations on a personal fundraising page (that you help them create) or use their school fundraising page or the general BCE fundraising page. Students call, send emails and texts to family and friends to collect donations. Then starting Monday, January 27 through Friday, January 31, students read, read, read!! Students track their days and minutes read at home and then enter their reading online at the end of the week. All minutes and sponsorship donations must be recorded by Monday, February 3rd at 9pm to be eligible for the grand prize drawing. Before, during and after the week of reading there are raffles and activities supporting the Read-a-thon.
How do you track minutes?
Parents and students track daily reading minutes at home. At the end of the week all minutes need to be recorded online so the student is eligible for prizes. Elementary School Minute Tracker ; BIS Minute Tracker
What counts as reading?
Students can choose whatever they want to read. They can read books, e-books, poetry, comics, magazines, and even audiobooks – anything goes! Being read to or looking at books counts too! It’s all about reading for fun, building a love of reading, and supporting Burlingame schools. Parents may read to children too!
Are there prizes?
Yes. Visit the BCE Read-a-thon Website for all Prize & Raffle details.
Is a Read-a-thon donation different from my annual BCE donation?
The Read-a-thon is a way to encourage grandparents, neighbors, and extended family to make donations for students’ reading efforts. Many friends and family find this to be the perfect way to support a child’s academic success and show they care about your child’s school. Parents/guardians are asked to make the suggested donation of $2000 per child (or as much as they can afford) during the school year ending June 30, 2025. BSD Parent Read-a-thon donations will be counted towards their annual BCE contribution. Read-a-thon donations are tax deductible.
How much does the BCE Read-a-thon raise for our schools?
Last year, Burlingame School District students raised over $186,000 to support our schools. Those donations fund music teachers, PE teachers, world language teachers, reading specialists, BIS musical and play. For more information about how Burlingame Community Education Foundation funds are spent visit bcefoundation.org.
For more information, visit bcefoundation.org/read-a-thon or reach out to info@bcefoundation.org.