Written by Denise Gary
Photographs © Denise Gary
For two years, we have been wishing for Cricket and Cicada magazines to give to older students who have outgrown the Highlights magazines we routinely give, thanks to the generosity of Highlights for Children. Because we provide reading resources to kids of all ages, we had a great desire to give high interest periodicals to the middle school and high school-aged youth we serve. Somewhere in this office, I think there must be hidden a genie lamp, because lo and behold, we were contacted and blessed with an offer of help from Carus Publishing earlier this year. We were over the moon with happiness!
The publishing company ran a renewal drive over the summer benefiting KNTR with 2 issues for each renewal. From that effort, our organization received an amazing 4,500 issues of Cricket and Cicada magazines, fulfilling our long-held dream to provide exciting periodicals to every child we inspire to read!
The publishing company is going to partner with KNTR again, conducting a new renewal drive in December. For every renewal they receive that month, Kids Need to Read will receive two issues to share with the many underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs we assist. Many of these children have never seen such fun and informative magazines. Reluctant readers who are disinterested in books will often pick up a magazine to peruse, so they are a great resource to use to spark an interest in reading.
Kids Need to Read has already sent out many of the magazines to the schools we are assisting this fall. We also brought them with us to give to ASU Preparatory Academy for all of their 6th through 9th grade students when we participated in their Fall Festival. Not only that but we gave them out to kids who participated in our games at Fireland Phoenix Faerie Festival. We could not be more thrilled with the gift of these magazines!
Thank you to everyone at Carus Publishing and the subscribers who supported your magazine drive on behalf of Kids Need to Read!
