Brandeis kids fight poverty with read-a-thon

Students at Brandeis Hillel Day School’s Marin campus have launched their second annual It Rocks to Read-a-Thon, which raises funds to fight poverty and support literacy.

The students, who collect pledges and then read as much as they can, are supporting the village of Bagad, India through Free the Children. The organization, a network of children helping children to overcome poverty in the developing world, “adopts” villages and funds initiatives to alleviate poverty through education, alternative income, health care, and water and sanitation improvements.

In the event’s first year, Brandeis students read for hundreds of hours and raised nearly $10,000 for Free the Children as well as a second charity, Caravan to Class, a school-building project in Mali, West Africa.

Brandeis Marin received a Big Dreamers Award from Free the Children for last year’s efforts.

Also as part of this year’s event, Brandeis middle-school students will read to residents at local senior centers and students at neighboring Venetia Valley Elementary School.

The read-a-thon also includes a school-wide book drive to support local elementary schools in need, as well as literacy organizations.