Woodsdale students raised over $7,500 for their Bookworm with a Read-A-Thon.

Every year, the Woodsdale Elementary School Student Council chooses a new service project. This year, the project was a fundraiser for a book vending machine. Their fundraiser was a school Read-A-Thon.

The student council set a goal of raising $7,000. After reaching out to local businesses for donations, the students launched a Read-A-Thon fundraiser.

Read-A-Thon’s web-based program made the fundraiser easy. Anyone, anywhere, could donate and support student readers. By the time the campaign finished, the school had raised well over its $7,000 goal.

BookVending.com partnered with Read-A-Thon and Woodsdale Elementary to create and deliver a custom-designed book vending machine that supports the school’s PBIS initiative.

Teachers reward academic and behavioral achievements with a golden Inchy token. Students then use the token to vend a new book.

“For example, if their reading goals are met the student will get a token and go pick out a book,” teacher Jamie Young told a news source. “The extra funding we receive will go toward purchasing books to start and in the future.”

Woodsdale students raised over $7,500 through their school-wide Read-A-Thon. The student council organized the event and approached local businesses for sponsorships.

Each student collected pledges. Donors could make a flat contribution or give a set amount for each book read.

An awards assembly announces and rewards the class and individual winners, and the top homeroom representative gets to pie the principal. Other prizes, including a climbing pass from the Highlands Sports Complex, go to the students who collected the most donations.

Read-A-Thons take less than one hour a week to manage. That is far less time and effort than most traditional fundraisers, and the online platform and dedicated support help families get started quickly.

Students read whatever they want, wherever they are, at any time. According to Read-A-Thon’s website, students who read books they choose themselves average 180 minutes of reading time. The program counts time read, not pages read, so students stay motivated to reach their goal with the books they like.