Kim Baer and Allison Bloss

The Wonder of Reading

Grant Awarded: $15,850

The Wonder of Reading is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to inspire in children the love of reading.

In Southern California, four out of five third graders cannot read at grade level. If children do not learn to read by third grade, they almost never catch up. Los Angeles area public schools currently do not have the funds to maintain or improve school library facilities on their own. Started in 1994, The Wonder of Reading rebuilds and restocks LA area public elementary school libraries and provides one-on-one reading mentorship to students in need. They had workbooks that were cobbled together using clip-art and black and white photocopiers.

Working with eight accomplished children’s book illustrators, the KBDA (Kim Baer Design Associates) team put together a 34-page, full-color storybook/workbook that combines magic, adventure and humor, with an engaging story about the experience of reading. In addition, brochures revealed statistics to explain the tremendous need and shared five inspirational success stories featuring student ‘graduates’ while illustrating the organization’s amazing track record.

Donor response has been incredibly enthusiastic. According to the Executive Director of The Wonder of Reading, the campaign has also been an important morale booster for internal staff. The Consensus is that they finally have a tool that tells the organization’s story in a way that reflects the quality of the programs.