Welcome to Blog for a Book! My name is Aimee Geurts and I am a volunteer for the Denver/Boulder Chapter of Room to Read. Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools and libraries. Through this blog I'll keep you up to date on the trials and tribulations of my progress, as well as that of our local chapter, in addition to any other local volunteer opportunities that come my way!

is this your dog?!

if so he's living in my kitchen.

metro denver partners....rockin out...

long time...no blog...

it's been almost a month since i posted here! not much was going on i guess.

we had our monthly room to read meeting last night and we discussed our big fall event which sounds like it will go off without much chapter support necessary, which is nice. it's going to be a very fancy house in boulder and it sounds like the hosts are taking care of everything.
so we discussed last night where else we could focus our attention and the thing that we always come back to is raising awareness and how do we get more volunteers!
polly and chris sort of took me aside after the meeting and mentioned they'd still like us to try to get some sort of younger 'hip' event put together and maybe if we take the focus off the fundraising and have it as more of an awareness event we'd be more successful.
so i emailed the old group to see if anyone is interested. so far my sister has said she'll help. i think i'm going to try to recruit a fellow co-worker who has had two fundraisers in the last 6 months that are sort of the style i'd like to accomplish.
the only thing is they want it to be a holiday event. which means soon and which means i'm not sure how much time i'll have because i always work a holiday job.
so we'll see.

meeting update

we had a room to read meeting last night at kathy's and i wasn't too jazzed on going, mostly because the last meeting ended up being just kathy, polly and i. not that i mind seeing them and talking to them etc it's just that sometimes it's nice to stay home if you can! but we ended up having 3 new people at the meeting so it was well worth it. and everyone kept telling me how cute my hair was so clearly that was worth a night away from home. ha.
we have a meeting on august 28th with an old friend of john wood's who's agreed to host a fundraiser in his giant home on november 11th. i don't really have any purpose at the meeting other than i asked them if i could come as a learning/networking experience and they are going to let me! it's fun to be part of this process and learn new things.

Volunteer opportunity...

Hello Rebuilding Volunteers,

We are contacting you about another exciting opportunity to rebuild in your communities.

On Saturday, October 4th RTMD is holding our Fall Rebuilding Day and will rehabilitate up to 20 homes in that one day.

We need numerous (over 100) volunteers to join teams of approximately 25 who will complete a home in one day.

To register access your volunteer application through out website www.rebuildingdenver.org and update this by choosing “Assign me a Team” under the project drop down bar.

By early September I will be in contact to confirm your commitment and assign you to a team.

Due to our sponsorship model we are not able to assign coworkers to the same team as a group! Our apologies and for the year to come we are developing new opportunities that broaden our range of engagement.

We hope you will continue to join us on the path of helping low-income homeowners! If not this time, sometime in the future!

Best regards,

“Volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one’s ideals, work with people, solve problems, see benefits, and know one had a hand in them.”

Lone Tree Barnes and Noble Room to Read Event

Hi everyone,
Check out the Save the Date below and join us at the Lone Tree Barnes and Noble for a Room to Read event! It is painless... stop by the Lone Tree Barnes and Noble on Saturday, June 14 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Shop for Father's Day and all of your summer reads, and a percentage of your sale will be donated to Room to Read!
Simply print out this email and bring it along so that you can present the voucher to the cashier, or stop by the Room to Read table and pick up a voucher before you make your purchase. As long as you mention Room to Read to the cashier, we get the credit!
While you are at it, help us to promote this event by circulating this email to as many folks as you can, especially those in the south metro area. The more they sell, the more we make!
Many thanks and we'll see you on the 14th!
Denver/Boulder Chapter
Room to Read

an email from polly....

Folks,

After much consideration, we’ve decided to put our Literacy by Designers event on hold and therefore not have our meeting tomorrow night. We’ve come to this decision collectively and independently. We’re still very excited about an event that encompasses local designers to benefit our global cause. We are just not satisfied that the event as we’ve envisioned it will come together in a manner that will raise the funds that we hope to raise – with the amount of effort required.

There are many other exciting events happening throughout the chapter – starting with a fun event at Barnes and Noble on June 14th. All of these events require us to help and/or get other volunteers to help make them happen. Given this – we’ve decided to focus our 2008 efforts on (in no particular order) 1) recruiting new volunteers 2) recruiting new corporate sponsors 3) putting on events that have higher projected revenues for our efforts 4) holding a spectacular fall event in Boulder with John in attendance 5) developing our relationship with Barnes and Noble in Colorado and 6) coming up with a great auction item for the RtR international chapter auction.

Finally, we’ve got a meeting of the Denver/Boulder chapter scheduled for Thursday, June 5th from 7:00 – 8:30. You are all welcome to join us at that meeting, where we will be focusing on the remaining ½ of the year and brainstorming about what we can do – and how we will do it.

Thanks for all of your efforts and time on this event. Please know that it hasn’t been wasted. It has been a necessary step towards getting us to where we are now.

Any questions or concerns? Please let me know.

Kind regards,
Polly

i think the end may be near.

similar event...

yep. still only one rsvp.

some days i really just want to give up!

meeting *sigh*

our next meeting was supposed to be this thursday, the 15th, at my house but only 3 people rsvp'd yes. so we decided to send out an email seeing if we could get better participation on the 22nd. NO REPLIES!

why is it so hard finding people who want to help????

fashion show update!

finally. i have been slacking on the blogging!
susie and i went up to ft collins right after work on friday. we were able to put up our new banner right in the front but i'm not sure if it really meant anything to anyone! the fashion show was cute. they took recycled materials from a construction site to make the "clothes" for the show. unfortunately the mc forgot to mention us at all! so that was sort of a bust. hopefully we will get enough of the proceeds to get a girls scholarship though. i'll have to email alex and see what our "take" was.

the csu fashion show is friday finally! i feel like we've been planning on going forever. i heard back from alex and they don't have anywhere for us to put up our rockin' new poster or any sort of table but she said they could put brochures on their ticket table so that's something.
susie and i are going to head up their right after work. estefania was going to come with us but she has a meeting at 4:30 in the DTC so she won't be able to ride up with us.

pictures to come!

Girl Scholars Become Authors in Nepal

The first Room to Grow scholars began attending school in Nepal in the year 2000 and Room to Read now supports the education of over 750 girls in the country. Through this unique program, girls have the opportunity to learn not only the basics, such as reading and language, but valuable lessons in confidence and creativity. Last October marked the first time a group of Room to Grow girls collectively published their work in a Local Language Publishing book.
The work, titled "Hamro Prakriti" or "Nature: As Our Children See it" is a collection of twelve poems written by girls in the Room to Grow Program from various regions in Nepal. The girls, who attend primary to upper secondary school, were asked to write about the beauty of their surroundings. They created poems in Nepali on a wide variety of subjects including parrots, mountains, trees, rivers and the spring season. Our young newly published authors are: Geeta Chepang, Karishma Rajbamshi, Nisha Lama, Deepa Chepang, Puja Kunwart, Bishnu Khadka, Roja Karki, Rajeshwori Bohaju, Sabina Magar, Binita Karki, Merina Sainju, Laxmi Parajuli and Rubina Gurung. The book was funded by a donation from the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
The goal of the Room to Grow program is to motivate, educate, and empower girls. The program acts as a strong incentive for girls to stay in school and achieve. It also provides consistent and long term support to girls who often grow up in unstable environments. Their education allows them to take control of their future. This newly published book serves as a powerful example for other young scholars to reach for their dreams.
"Nature" by Binita Karki
Written in Nepali and translated to English
Oh! Green tree
Gives oxygen for free.

Oh! Clear river
Flows forever.

Oh! Sailing clouds
Thundering so loud.

Oh! Blooming flowers
I can walk among them for hours.

Oh! Lovely snow
Makes the winter glow.

happy hour update!!

our volunteer happy hour was a lot of fun last night. we didn't end up getting a whole lot of people (maybe 8 or so non members were there) but chris, estefania and susie all gave very inspiring speeches and it seems as though they hooked everyone! i've got 3 people specifically very interested in helping with Literacy by Designers so i'm going to be sure to get them to our next meeting!
these crappy phone photos are chris giving her talk...and her most captive audience!

our happy hour at forest room 5 is tonight and i think it's going to be a bust! not very many people replied to the evite and i'm not sure how effective myspace and craigslist are.
at least we are trying!!

Room to Read Happy Hour!

Location: Forest Room 5 2532 15th Street, Denver, CO 80211
When: Thursday, April 24, 6:00PM

World change starts with educated children. With that in mind, please join us for a happy hour to find out about the many ways you could get involved to make change happen. Room to Read is an organization that has already impacted the lives of 1.7 million children all over the world by:

- Constructing 442 schools

- Establishing over 5,160 libraries

- Publishing 226 new local language children's titles
representing over 2 million books

- Donating over 2.2 million English language children's books

- Funding 4,036 long-term girls' scholarships

- Establishing 155 computer and language labs

All you have to do is donate a couple of hours a month to help us organize various fund raising events throughout the year. These events have a wide range, so you can get creative with your ideas. All of the money we raise has a pre-determined home, so no money goes unaccounted for.

You know you've been looking for an opportunity to help others, but just haven't found a cause that really speaks to you. That was me before I learned about Room to Read. Plus, what could be more fun than helping change the world while having a few drinks?

I hope to see you all there and please please pass this along to all of your friends!

Room to Read Celebrates the Completion of its 5000th Library

Room to Read celebrated the opening of its 5000th library, established late last year, on March 2, 2008. This event marked a significant milestone in Room to Read's eight year history by illustrating its rapid expansion into developing countries as it moves toward its goal of reaching 5 million children by the year 2010.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by over one-hundred people including John Wood; Mr. Pradeep Nepal, the Education and Sports Minister for Nepal; Mr. Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, Country Director for Room to Read, and a group of Room to Read donors. The library at the Shree Gauri Shankar Higher Secondary School is located near Pokhara in the Kaski District, about 120 miles from Kathmandu.
John Wood and accompanying supporters were given a hero's welcome when they arrived at the 5000th library. They had the opportunity to see the library's 4,000 books, interact with eager young readers and speak with the librarian about the popularity of Room to Read's award winning Local Language Publishing Program.

In his keynote address, Wood lauded the Nepal team for their excellent performance over the years. He strongly emphasized Room to Read's mission to impact millions of uneducated children throughout the world. "Room to Read will not rest until we reach out to all those children that haven't had the opportunity to go to school," he said, repeating Room to Read's commitment to more than double the number of libraries established from 5,000 to 13,000 by the year 2010.