Welcome to the rebirth of spring!
Last Month was National Reading Month. One of our BTSYA volunteers,Alex Pawlakos, spent many hours doing research on literacy rates in our nation and unfortunately, found that illiteracy is still a major problem. U.S. Department of Education research shows that more than 60 percent of Americaâs prison inmates are illiterate and that 85 percent of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. Two-thirds of Americaâs children living in poverty have no books at home, and the number of families living in poverty is on the rise. Three out of four food stamp recipients perform in the lowest two literacy levels and 90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts.
Thirty-three percent of 4th grade public school students are at or below the âBasicâ level of reading tests. Twenty-six percent of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. Where parent involvement is low, the classroom mean average is 46 points below the national average. Where involvement is high, classrooms score 28 points above the national averageâa gap of 74 points. Families play an important role in their childrenâs reading success and access to books is a critical investment in the future of our children.
On Saturday, April 25th, Be the Star You Are!® is hosting a Book Bash Blow Out whereby books for all ages will be deeply discounted. We hope you can attend, but if you canât consider buying a case of books to donate to an organization, school, or library to help get books into the hands of those who need them most. All sales are tax deductible donations to Be the Star You Are!® charity and when you spend $19.99 or more, youâll be given a FREE book. Thanks to 5 A Rent A Space for collaborating in creating this event and to our sponsor, Brooks Olbrys and Childrenâs Success Unlimited. Read more about this fun event below. Register for FREE.
On Saturday, May 9th, visit the Be the Star You Are!® booth at the Moraga Faire where we will be celebrating mothers and sustainable living. After the Moraga Faire, our volunteers will begin a gigantic book distribution to several charities.
To support this effort, donate here.
Be the Star You Are!® has once again been nominated as a Top Non Profit for 2015. We are grateful for the honor and thankful for our team of dedicated volunteer stars. Read more HERE. Thank you for all of your very kind remarks. Our goal is to empower our volunteers as well as help the people we serve. EVERYONE COUNTS!
Our two radio shows are hopping with incredible guest experts, authors, and celebrities. Make sure to tune in to our teen program, Express Yourself!⢠every Tuesday at NOON PT on Voice America Kids hosted by our talented youth and to StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® every Wednesday Live from 4-5pm PT hosted by Heather Brittany and myself for upbeat talk on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.
Enjoy spring and we look forward to seeing you at one of our events. If youâd like to sponsor an upcoming event, shoot me an email. My virtual door is always open.
Cynthia Brian
Founder/Executive Director
Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3
PO Box 376
Moraga, Ca. 94556
www.BetheStarYouAre.org
www.BTSYA.org
Cynthia@BetheStarYouAre.org
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Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best selling author, speaker, coach, and host of the radio show, StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® broadcasting live every Wednesday from 4-5pm PT on the Voice America Network.. She also is the creator and producer of Express Yourself!⢠Teen Radio and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501c3 charity.
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