About this fundraiser:

Welcome to the 2019 Cove School Readathon! This annual event combines the Cove’s passion for reading with a fun way to help support for our wonderful school.

This year we have a lot of exciting prizes up for grabs, including an iPad awarded to the student who reads the most minutes, and Golden State Warriors tickets to the student who raises the most money!!!

Everyone will have a chance to win prizes as we will hold a raffle at the end of the the Readathon. Students can earn raffle tickets based on the amount of time they read in addition to securing donation pledges from friends and family.

Each student should read or be read to for at least 20 minutes per day (Monday through Thursday) and enter their minutes online here: https://bit.ly/2GgGoGl for the duration of the Readathon. We are also accepting reading logs for those who prefer the analog method (logs can be picked up in the office). This is the same as the regular reading homework goal.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”— Dr. Seuss

FAQ's:
Why a Readathon?
We want to put a spotlight on reading this month! What better way to bring more attention to reading and encourage students to read! The student’s daily reading can also help raise money for our beloved school. The Readathon agrees with the teaching philosophies here at Cove perfectly. With 100% reading participation from the students, together by the end of the Readathon period, they will have read over 108,000 minutes!

What is the school’s goal?
Our goal is to have 100% of the students participate in the reading and fundraising! The monetary goal for our school is to raise over $70,000!

What are the students responsible for?
Each student is required to read or be read to for at least 20 minutes a day. By doing the daily reading requirement, at the end of the Readathon period, they will earn one ticket each week for the raffle drawing.

How can students earn extra tickets/chances for the raffle?
There are 3 ways to earn extra tickets for the raffle:
-For every 5 sponsors a student receives, they earn another raffle ticket
-For every 100 minutes over the required reading, students will receive an extra raffle ticket
-For every $100 raised students will receive an extra raffle ticket.

Where does the money go?
The Readathon is the primary fundraiser for the Cove PTO. The funds raised will provide more than 50% of the annual PTO budget. The donations help fund: instructional materials in the classroom, professional development for teachers, furniture and classroom equipment, PE and playground equipment, campus events, parent education, assemblies, campus improvement, student council, school gardens and much more!

For more information on what the PTO funds, you can go to this link: https://www.covepto.org/home

What is 99Pledges and why was it selected for the Readathon Website?
99Pledges is the website vendor that designed and will host our Readathon website. They will also handle the online payments, donation processing and goal tracking. The PTO went through a detailed selection process and found that 99pledges was the only reputable vendor that was able to provide a pledge and a flat fee option as well as online tracking of envelope donations.

Why is there an individual goal and can I change it?
Our overall emphasis during the Readathon is participation. Encourage your child to read, read, read! If they would like, have them set an individual reading goal, for example minutes per day. The individual goal on your child’s website page simply reflects the average fundraising amount per student that will help us reach our overall school goal (less fees and expenses). This is a standard feature of the 99pledges website but it can be changed for individual students on a case by case basis. Many students/parents customize the email and social messages that they send to family and friends to express the personal goal.

Can I customize my child’s participant page?
No. The Participant’s page cannot be customized. We recommend that a personal email be sent out instead with a link to the individual fundraising page. A phone call of visit to family and friends followed by an email is a good strategy that creates a more personal approach while still taking advantage of the simplicity of donating via the website.

Are my online payments secure?
Yes. 99Pledges is encrypted. You should be able to it at the top of the browser. All traffic gets redirected from http:// to https://, which essentially encrypts it using SSL (same technology that banks use). Further, you can see lock icons on donation pages.

Are there prizes? YES!!!
-->The student who raises the most money will win two tickets to see the Golden State Warriors!!!!
-->The student who reads the highest number of minutes will receive an iPad AND be principal for a day!
-->Each student will receive a commemorative Cove Readathon bookmark to use at the start of the Readathon.
-->Every student who receives at least one ticket will be entered into the raffle to win one of 10 additional prizes.
-->The classroom team who receives the highest participation level will receive a party.

Your donations will help pay for:

• Instructional Materials
• Professional development for teachers
• Classroom furniture and equipment
• PE and playground equipment
• Campus events
• Parent education
• Campus improvements
• The school garden