Support Our Reading Rhinos!
The Washington Read-a-thon is NINE EPIC DAYS of reading: The date will be announced soon but is scheduled for April 2025.
This school-wide event—whether students are in-person distance learning—is designed to improve skills and uncork a love of books through focused reading over a short duration, with a little old fashion competition sprinkled in! We spotlight the power of reading for NINE EPIC days by providing an opportunity for students and their families to focus on books and reading together.
Reading Goal
Our 2025 school-wide goal is to read a combined total of 250,000 minutes.
Fundraising Goal
We hope every student can raise at least $85 from their sponsors. Sponsors can include grandparents, neighbors, your parents’ Facebook Friends, your piano teacher, or even yourself!
The Read-a-thon is also a great fundraiser for Washington! A portion of the funds raised will go directly to each classroom for supplies, field trips, books, and other classroom needs. The remaining funds go into the PTA general fund, which will help pay for school-wide needs like physical education, art enrichment classes (like poetry and movement), and new projects.
How does it work?
Students ask sponsors to support their reading by pledging a fixed $ amount OR per minute amount.
From Saturday to the following Sunday students and families READ, READ, READ!
Students track time spent reading (or being read to or listening to an audiobook) on their reading log.
Students collect their pledges.
Pledges and the reading log/pledge envelope are returned to teachers OR email your child’s name, teacher, and the total number of minutes to the PTA Fundraising Leader and mail the checks to school at 2300 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.
How to donate?
Cash: We’ll take it!
Checks: Make checks payable to: Washington PTA. Washington PTA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization (tax ID # is 94-6174706).
Share donation request on social media: : Reach out to friends and family for donations by posting on your social media pages using the link to our Read-a-thon page.
Online payment: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/washington239
What are the Prizes?
Most minutes read (student)
The top three students per grade who read the most minutes will win a gift card!
Most minutes read (classroom)
The class with the most minutes read wins a cookie or popsicle party.
Highest participation rate (classroom)
The class with the highest participation rate will celebrate with a special whole-class prize. (Participation = turning in reading logs--no fundraising required.) All classes with 100% participation will have a prize.
Need the Read-a-thon Forms?
Download them here: Pledge sheet, Parent guide, Reading log.