Crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative lets communities determine grant funding
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Votes on Facebook can help Read Aloud West Virginia bring $25,000 to the Mountain State.
Read Aloud West Virginia has been selected by the State Farm Youth Advisory Board (YAB) as a top 200 cause in the nation in the 2015 State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program, according to Mary Kay Bond, executive director of Read Aloud West Virginia.
“From May 14 to June 3, the Facebook community will vote for their favorite causes. The 40 causes with the most votes will each be awarded $25,000,” Bond said. “To support Read Aloud West Virginia and vote, visit the State Farm Neighborhood Assist app at https://www.state-assist.com/cause/1504325/read-aloud-west-virginia. Individuals can vote 10 times a day with one easy Facebook visit. You can also help bring these funds to West Virginia by spreading the word to family and friends.”
See all Real Aloud West Virginia initiatives: http://readaloudwestvirginia.org
State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that lets communities determine where grant funding is awarded. The initiative used the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to vet submissions and allows Facebook users who download the State Farm Neighborhood Assist application to vote for the final 40 grant winners.
“The program has been inspired by the incredible number of neighborhoods that are coming together to solve a problem or improve their community, ” an official said.
“Read Aloud’s mission is to change the literacy culture in West Virginia by keeping books in the hands and on the minds of our state’s children,” Bond said.
In support of that mission, the organization offers programs in four primary areas: Volunteer Readers, Public Education, Book Distribution and Classroom Enrichment. Read Aloud currently serves chapters in 25 counties in West Virginia. Funds from the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program would allow the organization to continue to expand to serve more West Virginia students and families.
To learn more about Read Aloud West Virginia or get involved, visit www.readaloudwestvirginia.org, call (304)345-5212 or e-mail [email protected].
