PTA Readathon Raises 48K For Grand View Elementary

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA —The students of Grand View Elementary School has raised $48,000 so far for their PTA-sponsored Readathon, surpassing the initial $10,000 goal. Donations are still coming in and an official announcement of funds raised will be made later this week.

"What started out as a small fundraising event has outperformed what we would have ever expected," VP of Fundraising, Grand View PTA, Kate Sinclair told Patch.

The Grand View Readathon is geared toward encouraging a love of independent reading and also giving students an opportunity to raise money for their school. "Our initial goal was to raise $10,000 to help underwrite Grand View's library and literacy needs (books, technology, licensing fees, new equipment, etc.)," Sinclair said.

The idea was brought to the school over the summer by Library Resource Specialist Heidi Snively. "We loved the concept and were excited to launch it for our students," Sinclair said. "Then COVID hit, and this became our only major fundraiser."

Sinclair says there was uncertainty at first about how the students and parents would respond. "But everyone just knocked it out of the park," she said. "The teachers, students, and families have truly embraced the idea and sparked a huge outpouring of enthusiasm and commitment."

According to Sinclair, 75% of the student body— or 386 readers— participated for the two-week campaign. Each child, K– 5th grade, set a personal reading goal for themselves and asked family members and friends to support their efforts and reading challenge by making a donation on their reader profile page. In total, the students took part in over 2300 hours of reading.

Because the funds exceeded the $10,000 goal that was designated for the library, the PTA is turning to students and families that participated to vote on what they’d like the rest of the funds to go toward. Some priorities include the purchase of mature trees for the new GV campus, new furniture for the soon-to-be-completed classrooms, and cold water hydration stations near the playground and fields.

Readathon community partners, Pages Bookstore and the Simms Restaurant Group, worked with the school to create a special GV Readathon section in the store and on their website with titles for readers in all grades. "In addition, they are donating book prizes to the Top Readers and a percentage of sales back to the school," Sinclair said.

The final tally and top reader winners will be announced via an eblast and will be posted on the school's website later this week.