So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.
Lewis Carroll,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
National campaign "All of Poland Reads to Kids"
The campaign “All of Poland Reads to Kids” ("Cała Polska czyta dzieciom") has already been functioning for over ten years. We started the project on the 1st of June 2001, possessing only one beautiful poster depicting a butterfly, created by Rafal Olbinski, as well as a TV and radio advert entitled: “Dad, can you read?” We also possessed a firm belief that reading aloud to children is the best possible way of investing in their future. An immense group effort has allowed us to change the perception of Polish society about the role of reading aloud in a child’s development. This has only been possible due to the work of thousands of volunteers, and due to the support of our partners, who have helped us both financially and also by promoting our reading campaign. As a result, reading aloud to children has become very popular, if not obvious, amongst many Poles.
On the 10th Anniversary of the campaign, the Foundation launched the"All of Europe Reads to Kids" programme to promote daily reading to children, facilitate an exchange of experiences and good practices between different organizations in Europe as well as provide a working platform for those who are willing to launch campaigns promoting reading to children in their countries
The Foundation has developed many programs and ways of spreading the child-related knowledge and promoting reading among the society- wide media campaigns, educational films, five websites, the multimedia presentations, large scale production and free distribution of educational materials (posters, brochures, book marks, calendars inserted into leading Polish magazines), as well as conferences and workshops throughout the country on children’s emotional needs, benefits of reading aloud to them, purpose and methods of teaching values, the media influence on children and other issues. Ca 6,400 Foundation’s volunteers – Leaders and Coordinators – carry out the reading campaign in over 2,600 cities and villages; 2,339 schools and 2,376 kindergartens registered to Foundation’s reading programs. To promote reading to children, the Foundation is organizing many events and large scale undertakings. Yearly actions organized throughout the country include:
Reading Brings Us Closer (reading events to integrate healthy and disabled children);
Spring Book Collection (average yearly number of collected books amounts to 40 thousand),
Summer with a Book (organized mostly by libraries),
National Birthday of Winnie the Pooh (on October 14th; in kindergartens, schools, hospitals);
educational conferences ”How to Love a Child?” and “Wise Child Rearing” (covering the importance of supporting the emotional health of children, reading to them and teaching them values, among others),
Grand Finale, which is an occasion to present awards to volunteers involved in the campaign, as well as to the best sponsors, media patrons and other friends and allies of the Foundation.
National Weeks of Reading to Children (a vast mobilization of all Leaders and Coordinators; the number of participating communities and institutions is rapidly growing promotional materials like posters, brochures, bookmarks, stickers etc., are created, produced and sent free to over 4500 destinations throughout the country
Our Foundation appointed the Ambassadors of the "All of Poland Reads to Kids" campaign. The following renowned artists and media personalities honoured us by accepting the appointments: Ms Joanna Brodzik, Ms Teresa Lipowska, Ms Dorota Zawadzka and Mr Artur Barciś.
