Share

Stay Up-to-Date:

Events Reach out and Read Kansas City

Race To Read 5K-CANCELLED


The 2020 Race to Read 5K is cancelled due to the current mandates in place regarding COVID-19.  Safety is our top priority.

Funding generated from events are crucial for nonprofits like us.

If you would like to continue your support our efforts with a gift, you can make one here-- please note Virtual Racer so we can stay on track and keep promoting children's literacy in KC.

Your support touches our mission to support children and families through books, literacy advice, and story time.

Books On Tap

Our 8th annual Books on Tap happy hour networking event was held on September 18th, 2019 at the River Market Event Place, and was our most successful to date! 

Literacy supporters gathered to enjoy delicious local food and drinks, take part in a unique silent auction and raffle and raise funds for ROR-KC. Thank you to all who attended and made it a great night!

Books on Tap proceeds provide books and literacy advice to low-income families throughout the Kansas City area.  

Our 2020 Event will take place on Wednesday, September 16th, and will once again be held at the River Market Event Place. We are accepting sponsors now. Click here for more information about sponsoring Books On Tap in 2020, and here for information about our 2020 sponsorship packages for all three signature events. 

Thank you to our 2019 Brewer Level sponsors, who helped to make this event possible:

Contact Jenny Horsley with questions about sponsoring an ROR-KC event.

(913) 588 - 2793

jhorsley@kumc.edu

Can't make it to the event? 

You can still support our cause!  Click here.


2020 Sponsorships

Sponsor a Child's Success!


Fundraising events are critical to the Reach Out and Read KC program. They bring in a third of the funds we need to get 74,000 books into the hands of the local children and families who need them each year. 

Each year we hold three signature events: Our For the Love of Books Breakfast in February, the Race to Read 5K in the spring and our Books On Tap happy hour, which takes place in September. We accept sponsorships year-round, and offer packages that include sponsoring one, two or all three events. We have a wide range of sponsors, including individuals, organizations and businesses. There's something for everyone. Thank you to all of our sponsors!

Click here for an overview of our sponsorship options. 

Click here to learn about sponsoring the For the Love of Books Breakfast.

Click here to learn about sponsoring Race to Read 5K.

Click here to learn about sponsoring Books On Tap.

Click here to download the sponsorship form. You can also sign up to be a sponsor here. 

Please feel free to contact Ellen Quinn at equinn5@kumc.edu if you have any questions!


Cover Stars:

Sallie Page-Goertz and Kenn Goertz

Bookmarkers:



Tanya Rodecker-Wendt & Samuel Wendt

Hooked on Books

No photo description available.
CONGRATULATIONS CLEAR CREEK ELEMENTARY!!!
Clear Creek Elementary collected over 16 books per student--WOW! A big thanks to ALL of the schools that participated this year! We are excited to announce that our "Hooked on Books" effort collected over 20,000 books this year! 

Eighteen schools participated in this area-wide book drive, and the winning school was Clear Creek Elementary of USD 232 De Soto School District. 

 Their Media Specialist, Dandra Arter, will receive a $250 check to go towards new books for their school library.  Also, one lucky class at the school will get to have a pizza party! Over half of the books collected will go to Reach Out and Read Kansas City waiting rooms, where all children are able to take home a book each time they visit their health-care provider.  The rest of the books are being distributed to agencies, schools and churches throughout the KC metropolitan area who make sure the books go to deserving families. 

Book Drive information will be available in November 2020 for the 2021 Book Drives.  

For the Love of Books Breakfast

"At what age do young children start decoding the world around them?"

This was a most thought-provoking question to be asked by 2020 For the Love of Books breakfast honorary host and ROR-KC Medical Director Sallie Page-Goertz, while gathered over coffee and delicious morning provisions. All while being surrounded by 180 community members, ROR-KC board members and Kansas City leaders such as Mayor Quinton Lucas and former Kansas City Mayor Sly James.

We are proud to say we had a successful 2020 For the Love of Books breakfast on Thursday, February 13 at a new location, Grand Street Cafe. On a cold Thursday morning when you'd typically be driving into work thinking about the day ahead, we gave our attendees the opportunity to take a break from the norm and gather for breakfast, meaningful conversation and a glimpse into Reach Out and Read Kansas City's world.

Even with the temperatures dropping, we managed to keep moving and this year, with your help, we grossed $53,560 so far. We were able to get the $4,000 match from the Kauffman Foundation with our day-of total at $14,575 (including the match).

Throughout the morning, inspiration came in many forms as Sallie Page-Goertz challenged us to envision what it would be like for a child on a day-to-day basis that didn't have access to books, so ROR-KC staff made a code listed on event programs for attendees to decipher. The code resulted in: Books Are Awesome!

Goertz then explained an interesting Princeton University study conducted earlier this year. A team of Princeton researchers developed a new way to measure baby and adult brain activity during natural interaction.

Our guests were then treated to an insightful Q&A lead by Fox 4's Shannon O'Brien towards our Keynote Speakers, local children's book authors Aja James and Audrey Masoner. We learned more about them as individuals and their journey into how "Mayor Sly and the Magic Bow Tie: A Kansas City Adventure" was born.


ROR-KC would like to extend a special thank you to our event sponsors: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, CommunityAmerica Credit Union, Hallmark, Sallie Page-Goertz & Kenneth Goertz, Pamela Madaus & William McLean III and The Walsh Family Foundation.

We hope we will have your support for next year's For the Love of Books breakfast!