Fall into Reading

Thank you to everyone who made this campaign possible,

THE BOOK RACK

THREE OLD GUYS WITH WOOD

PEORIA AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE CARVER CENTER

WALGREENS

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AMC THEATER LOWE’S

BEACHLER’S KROGER

THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

TARGET PARTY CITY

CONCORDIA LUTHERAN SCHOOL

The Issue

In 2016, a study from the Journal of Multidisciplinary Research found that students from lower-income families have less access to books than students who come from middle-class families.

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Reading, especially for pleasure, is an essential part of a growing child’s development and education.

Clients

• Been in business in Peoria for nearly 40 years
• Current owner is Stacy Hardin, who started going to The Book Rack when she was 12 years old
• The store’s mission is to make reading accessible to everyone
• Every book in the store costs less than $5
• Stacy has always wanted to provide books to lower income neighborhoods in Peoria.
• On-going campaign

Clients

• Helps over 1,500 children each year develop into responsible, productive and caring citizens
• Offers 11 programs to start Peoria youth on their path toward the American Dream through character development, educational enhancement, and career exploration
• Target audience is youth ages six to 18 years, especially those in at-risk circumstances
• Implemented and maintain a successful Little Library

Clients cont.

George Washington Carver Center

• Carver Center and its Executive Director Ken Hinton are large influencers for our target audience
• The organization has been a safe space for citizens of South Peoria since its doors opened in 1918
• Well known
• Staff works to teach children in the area good habits such as eating right and paying attention in school
• Venue for the Fall into Reading Festival and location of new Little Library

Research - Secondary

• Reading, especially for pleasure, is an essential part of a growing child’s development and education.
• “Children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, as well as vocabulary and spelling, between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read” (Economic & Social Research Council, 2016)
• The crucial skills learned during reading can transfer into the child’s adult life and career

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Research - Secondary

• If a child is not introduced to reading for pleasure at a young age, it could lead them to spend their time making negative or harmful decisions.
• Students growing up in a lower-income home have less access to books than their middle-class counterparts.
• It has been proven that income disparities translate into crime.

“2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare… over 70% of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.”

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(dosomething.org)

Research - Secondary

“Reading books often, going to the library regularly, and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree.”

(Economic & Social Research Council)

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With this knowledge in hand, students with a disadvantaged background can start on the path to a brighter future.

Research - In Peoria

In Peoria, crime rates are especially high.

• 79% higher than the nation’s average

From 2012 - 2017:

• Murder rate rose 7.1%
• Aggravated assault rose 9.5%
• Robbery rose 14.3%

Research - In Peoria

Our target area is a low-income area

• Median household income falls below $20K/year

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• Peorian median household income: $46K/year

Research - Primary

• Do you have any children?
• Age(s)?
• How often do you read to your children?
• Specify which age if more than one
• Were you read to as a child?
• If so, how often were you read to?
• How often does your child read for pleasure?
• What are the activities or toys that your child enjoys most?
• When asking your child to complete a task, what motivates them to do it?
• Would your child be interested in participating in The Book Rack’s Childhood Bookmark contest?
• Are you aware of Peoria’s annual Santa Clause Parade?
• Would your child(ren) be interested in marching in the Santa Claus Parade on November 25, 2017?
• Where do you get your daily news?

• Visited target neighborhood
• Survey
• Overwhelmingly positive response

Target Audience

Primary

• Nine and 10 year olds
• reside within the boundaries of West Martin Luther King Junior Drive, N MacArthur Highway, and W Aiken Ave

Secondary

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• Parents, guardians, and siblings of our primary audience

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Goal

It was our goal that through this campaign we would instill a desire in our target audience to read for pleasure, as well as make reading for fun something that they view as habitual.

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“Fall into Reading”

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Little Free Library

• “Give a book, take a book”
• On the map

Objectives - Impact

Behavioral:

• Have 30 children show up at our event.
• Motivate 10 children to go to our reading box over a four week span.

Informational:

• Create an awareness of the benefits of reading

Attitudinal:

• Attitudes toward reading for pleasure were already positive.

Objectives - Output

• Give every home in our target area informational material on the benefits of reading and fliers about our events.
• Issue two surveys, one before the event to gauge attitude levels, and one during the event to parents and children attending.

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• Send event press release to 10 medias
• Get two medias to cover our event the day-of
• Get 569 books donated
• Create a Twitter for The Book Rack and put out 3 posts pertaining to our event

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Campaign Strategies

• Personal interaction
• Through our primary research, it was found that the truest way to inspire change and motivate people is through person to person interaction
• Replicability
• This campaign and the event can easily be replicated by The Book Rack
• The idea of an annual Fall into Reading Festival creates excitement in the community
• Low levels of participation
• This campaign was ideal for parents in the community who may not have the time, energy, resources, etc to take their children to a library

Campaign Messages

The benefits of reading for pleasure, as well as making reading for pleasure habitual, starting at a young age were the main messages we wanted to get across through our biggest campaign message, “Fall into Reading.”

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Program Execution

The Fall into Reading Campaign contained three phases:

1. Book donations - ongoing
2. Little Library pre-event - Tuesday, October 17, 2017
3. Fall into Reading Festival - Saturday, October 28, 2017

Phase One - Book Donations

• Ongoing
• Initial book donation goal was 569 books
• one for each student attending Roosevelt Magnet School, located in our target neighborhood.
• As of November 9, 2017 over 800 books have been donated

Phase Two - Pre-Event

• Held at The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Peoria
• Children helped us pick books to go into the little library
• Decorate signs
• Children also designed bookmarks to be entered into The Book Rack’s annual children’s bookmark design contest

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Phase Three: Fall into Reading Festival

• Culmination of the campaign
• Venue: Carver Center, located in John H. Gwynn Jr. Park
• Saturday October, 28, 2017 from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

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Phase Three: Fall into Reading Festival

• Event Agenda:
• 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Festival Events
• Bookmark design, bobbing for apples, face painting, balloon animals, etc.
• 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Speakers
• Dr. Rita Ali and Mayor Jim Ardis
• 2:45 p.m. - Little Library Dedication

Pre-Event Media

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• Radio
• 89.9 WCBU
• Print
• The Traveler Weekly
• The Bradley Scout
• The Peoria Journal Star
• Digital
• Meanwhile, Back in Peoria
• Terry Beachler, Beachler’s Shell
• Renee Charles, B-News Email

• Television
• WEEK News 25
• WMBD-TV
• WTVP
• City Government
• Peoria Chamber of Commerce
• Peoria Mayor, Jim Ardis

Media Coverage

• BUTV
• http://com.bradley.edu/butvnews/2017/11/03/free-books/
• WEEK 25
• http://www.week.com/story/36709666/carver-center-unveils-newest-little-free-library-to-promote-reading-with-kids
• Peoria Life
• Events Calendar, Newsletter

• Hilltop Happenings
• Bradley University event Calendar
• B-News email
• Explore Peoria
• Events Calendar
• What’s up, Peoria
• Flyer on Facebook page
• Chambers
• Website

Media Impressions

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• BUTV
• Youtube: 6
• Segment: 117
• Total: 123
• WEEK 25
• Website article and video: 163 views
• Peoria Life
• Newsletter and Events Calendar: 16,000
• Bradley University

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• Hilltop Happenings
• Newsletter: All students and 200 faculty
• B-News email
• Open rate of ~60%
• Explore Peoria
• Events Calendar: 4,000 - 5,000/ mo.
• Newsletter: 17,000
• What’s up, Peoria
• Flyer on Facebook page: 384 followers
• Chambers
• Website: 4,000/ mo.

Campaign Budget - Promotional Materials

• 300 Color Flyers and 60 Half Sheet Color Flyers:
• $.50 per color per page (Peoria Public Library), $165 total
• Our cost: $0, donated by the Chamber of Commerce and Concordia Lutheran School

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Campaign Budget - Promotional Materials

• Digital Advertising on Beachlers Shell Sign:
• $400 for 2 Weeks
• Our cost: $0, donated by Terry Beachler

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Campaign Budget - Event Supplies

• Little Library Materials
• Building Materials: $44
• Our cost: $0, donated by Lowe’s and Todd Hines, of Three Old Guys with Wood
• Register Fee: $40
• Our cost: $0, donated by GoFundMe

• Park District Fee
• $75
• Our cost: $0, donated by Stacy Hardin

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Campaign Budget - Event Supplies

• Candy
• Estimated Cost: $150
• Our Cost: $0, donated by Walgreens, Target, and the GoFundMe
• Food materials for games
• 3 Dozen Eggs - $1.00 per dozen, $3.00 total
• 2 3-lbs. Bags of Apples, $1.49 each, $2.98 total
• Our cost: $0, donated by Kroger

• Event decorations
• Cost: $44
• Our cost: $0, donated by the GoFundMe
• 12 Helium Filled Balloons
• $1.49 each, $17.88 total from Party City
• Our cost: $0, donated to us by Party City

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Campaign Budget

• Popcorn
• Cost: $272.70
• Our cost, $0 donated by AMC Theaters
• Easel and yard signs
• Cost: $39.90
• Our cost, $0 donated by Concordia Lutheran School
• Posters
• $2

• Individual snack bags
• Cost: $43.31
• Our cost, $0 donated by Sherneka Cagle
• Balloon animal balloons/pump
• Cost: $12
• Sponsor Board
• Cost: $12

Total amount donated...

$1,132.77

Event Debrief - What Went Well

• Volunteers
• Plenty of volunteers
• All remained engaged with the children and their activities
• Prizes
• Had so many donated that every kid received multiple
• Speakers
• Kept speeches short to keep attention
• Speeches were relatable

Event Debrief - What Could Have Gone Better

• Inclement Weather
• Instead of being able to hold it in the park, held it inside the Carver Center
• Hand out reminders in the neighborhood that specify it’s inside
• Place reminders in local businesses saying the event was moving inside (Shell, City Fashion, CEFCU)
• Lower attendance
• Ended up waving a sign outside to attract people
• Should have started this earlier in the day
• Semi-unclear entrance
• Make sure to have signs with big arrows and pointing to parking

Suggestion for Future Campaigns

• Pledge system
• Enlisting the help of children from The Boys and Girls Club and The Carver Center in the initial door-to-door canvassing
• Continue to foster personal, face-to-face interactions
• Hold the event earlier in October
• Continue to include community influencers

Evaluation - Impact Objectives

Behavioral:

• Have 30 children show up at our event.
• We had 23 children in attendance over the course of our two-hour event.
• Motivate 10 children to go to our reading box over a four-week span.
• Original book count: 79
• Current book count: 54
• The number has fluctuated and the books have been shifted

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Informational:

• Create an awareness of the benefits of reading through our campaign by providing every target family with information regarding our campaign.
• Every person at the event was given materials highlighting the importance of reading.

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Evaluation - Output Objectives

• Give every home in our target area informational material on the benefits of reading and fliers about our events.
• Every home in our target neighborhood received materials highlighting the importance of reading.
• Issue two surveys, one before the event to gauge attitude levels, and one during the event to parents and children attending.
• Both the pre-event surveys and event surveys were distributed and completed by members of our target audience.

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• Send event press release to 10 different media outlets.
• Our press release was sent to 12 media outlets.
• Get two media outlets to cover our event the day-of.
• Both WEEK News 25 and BUTV covered the Fall into Reading Festival on October 28.
• Get 569 books donated.
• As of November 6, 2017, we had over 800 books donated. Since our event, the number of books donated has continued to rise steadily thanks to help from The Book Rack and The Carver Center.
• Create a Twitter for The Book Rack and put out 3 posts pertaining to our event
• 6 posts with 1,295 total impressions and 129 total engagements

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

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Thank you!

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