Nestle Family Happy New School Year Party

We love Nestle products in our family and I was excited when I received the invitation to host a Nestle Family Happy New School Year Party!  Nestle sent me a package including all the supplies necessary to hold my party, as well as gift bags and door prizes to give to my guests.  Bloggers hosted Happy New School Year Parties nationwide, with the intent to work with Nestle and promote literacy in support of the Reading Is Fundamental Organization.  In addition to the package containing party supplies and gifts, Reading Is Fundaments sent a package with $350 in books for me to donate to an organization in my community (post coming soon).

Through its partnership with RIF, Nestle has distributed millions of books to elementary school children across the country that are associated with the Nestle Adopt-A-School program.  The books donated are designed to not only encourage literacy, but are specifically focused on teaching kids about the importance of nutrition, health and wellness.

I had never heard of the Reading Is Fundamental program until I participated in this campaign.  The Mission of RIF is to motivate young children to read by working with children, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life.

RIF was founded in 1966 by Margaret McNamara and is the nation’s oldest and largest children’s and family nonprofit literacy organization.  Supporters include: first ladies, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalyn Carter, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush; comedian Carol Burnett; TV actress Rhea Perlman; and NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Juwan Howard.

RIF serves more than 4.4 million children nationwide with a focus on children ages birth to 8.  In 2009, RIF distributed 15 million books at 17,000 sites throughout the nation.  In 43 years, RIF has distributed more than 365 million free, new books to over 29 million children.  RIF is supported by more than 400,000 volunteers nationwide.

RIF is supported by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education.  RIF has partnerships with more than dozens of corporations and private foundations, and receives donations from thousands of individuals.  Nearly 90 percent of RIF’s annual budget is used to purchase books and support local RIF sites.

RIF provides free books to the nation’s most needy children and engages children in fun reading-related activities.  RIF also motivates children to read for fun and encourages parents and community members to become involved in children’s literacy.  RIF offers trainings to center- and home-based daycare providers in support of the emergent literacy skills of preschool children.  RIF also provides trainings and resources to parents, including access to free videos, information, and tips on making reading a fun part of their child’s day. 

There are educational resources available @RIF.org.  RIF’s Leading to Reading website and its bilingual mirror site, Semilitas de aprendizaje, are designed to help parents and caregivers develop the language skills of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  The RIF Reading Planet and Leamos en Familia encourage children to explore a fun, online world of books as they engage in an assortment of reading and writing games, activities, and contests.

My guests and I learned so much about RIF through the Nestle Happy New School Year Party!  We also had a blast socializing and enjoying the yummy treats supplied by Nestle.  The kids enjoyed looking through some of the books as well.  Congrats to Val for winning the $25 Amazon Gift Certificate and Randalin for winning the Nesquik Lunch Pail filled with coupons!  Each of the guests received a goody bag including FREE coupons for various Nestle products, coupons for money off when buying Nestle products, and then Craisinets. 

As a blogger, I represent many companies on my site, but I especially love it when companies I am familiar with get involved in helping the community, especially when it comes to children.  Thank you to Nestle and Reading Is Fundamental for inviting me to participate in this awesome campaign!

I received compensation, product samples, and supplies necessary for holding the Nestle Family Happy New School Year Party from Nestle.  I also received $350 in books from Reading Is Fundamental to donate to a school supported by RIF in my community.  All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.