Ridgewood Public Library to Host Reading Marathon Throughout February

The Friends of the Ridgewood Library is sponsoring its annual Reading Marathon Fundraiser during the month of February.

The marathon, which encourages participation from students in preschool through middle school, helps foster a love of reading while raising valuable funds for books, media and materials as well as science, art and cultural programs such as Robotics, Mango online language learning service, Summer Reading Club and The Reel Voices Film Festival.

The Ridgewood Library will host three Reading Marathon events. The Reading Marathon kick-off will be held on Monday, Feb. 2 from 4 to 5 p.m. and will feature “Bash the Trash,” an entertaining performance group that uses recycled and reimagined instruments. A closing event, “Hats off to Dr. Seuss,” is planned for Monday, March 2 from 4 to 5 p.m. with teen volunteers “Reading Across America” with some all-time favorite books. And lastly, the Preschool Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, April 10 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Participants track the number of books and/or pages read in February on a form distributed by their teachers. Nearly 3,400 students participated last year, hitting record levels, with most notably all elementary schools achieving over 90 percent participation.

Consistent with prior years, all preschool and kindergarten students are eligible to earn Gold Medals by reading 9+ books. Students in grades 1 through 5 who read 12+ books, or 500+ pages, and submit a parent-signed form by the March 2 due date will have a chance to win several exciting raffle prizes, such as movie tickets, games, books or a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tasting challenge. Middle school students who read 750+ pages and return parent-signed forms on time have a chance to win $25 gift cards or one of four Vermonsters, Ben & Jerry’s gargantuan ice cream sundaes. The top male and female reader from both Benjamin Franklin and George Washington Middle Schools will also win a book of their choice.

Sibel Berberoglu, owner of Ben & Jerry’s in Ridgewood, is proud to support the Marathon for the 10th year by generously donating 1000’s of scoops of free ice cream, including the Vermonsters.

Participation in the Reading Marathon Fundraiser is free of charge, however families are asked to consider supporting the Ridgewood Public Library by making a donation of any amount.

Look for Reading Marathon forms to come home in your child’s backpack, at the Ridgewood Library or on the Library’s website: www.ridgewoodlibrary.org.

For more information, contact the Children’s Center at 201-670-5600 x110.