READ TO ME - Goals & Vision

The following questions are taken from the many emails sent by interested readers and responders of the "O" Magazine article. We will add more Qs and As soon. The "Implementation" tabs on this website may also answer some of your questions.

Thanks,
Susan.

Is there a Read to Me Program in my area?
		Currently there are program leaders in NYC, Boston, MA, Charlottesville,Va, Portland, OR, and Indianapolis, IN. New programs can develop easily in most communities. See the section of this website marked IMPLEMENTATION to begin thinking about who and what you might need. then write to Susan@readtomeprogram.org.

		Where can I send a donation of books?
			Send new or gently used children's books (hardback, paperback, board or pop-ups) to Susan Straub, POB 730 Planetarium Station, New York, NY 10024-0539.
Can I send you some money? I want to give something in my mother's name for mother's day.
	Yes, and what a lovely way to pay tribute to you mother. She probably read to you. We are no longer under the auspices of a non-profit organization, however, we retain a non-profit way of doing business. We will send the new Reading With Babies DVD to young families in teen parent programs, or to READ TO ME program families as a gift in your name. If a receipt from a non-profit organization is required, we will arrange for your check to be made out to the recipient organization for the pupose of purchasing gift DVDs on Reading with Babies. Please phone to discuss: 212-721-6211.
Do I have to become a 501 ( c ) 3 in order to run a READ TO ME Program?
	No. My suggestion is that if you are not employed in a position that would pay you a salary to run a READ TO ME Program, you might seek to align yourself with a functioning group like a library, day care center or community/educational center which serves a population of young families. You might be able to be hired to run this particular part of their services.
The program looks great, but my mother and baby group doesn't meet in a high school. Can I adapt the program to fits the needs of my particular setting?
	Of course. The READ TO ME Program offers different entries into the world of reading to babies. Each workshop tries to give young parents an enjoyable and useful experience with books for very young children. The program can be easily modified, expanded, and repeated for maximum effect.
How much does the program cost?
	A ball-park figure is $1500. Assuming that you do not have to pay for the meeting rooms or salaries, the way to figure your costs is add up expenses for travel, books to keep and books to give as gifts, art and photo supplies, and writer-illustrator honoraria plus his/her books for all participants. On the basis of a group of 10 parents, figure one gift book during the program at a cost of approximately $5-10 per copy. Art and photo supplies are ongoing: Polaroid film costs $12 for a package of 10. The camera is less than $200 (or free if borrowed from an owner.) Luggage tags, markers, stencils, glue sticks etc are easily obtained at an office supply store, and can be reused for future programs. An author-illustrator may waive a large fee, but needs at minimum a token honorarium for the hour with our unique group. Consider $250-300. Publishers will give a 40% discount for author-illustrator personal visits. This means that a $12 book would cost $7 per copy, plus S&H.
		Are there any training programs for READ TO ME Leaders? When do you expect to run the next one, where, and what's involved?
			Training programs for staff working with young families occur from time to time. Training programs for your organization can be arranged. Please contact Susan for further information. (See Staff Training under the Implementation Tab).