MISSION
Our mission is to foster early literacy bonds between children and their parents to ensure that all young children from Aspen to Parachute develop a love of books and the skills to become successful readers.
VISION
Our vision is that all children from Aspen to Parachute will enter kindergarten ready for reading success, in love with books and excited about learning.
HILARY DRUMMOND
Member
Clinic Director,
Roaring Fork Family Practice
Carbondale, CO
HISTORY/TIMELINE
2004
Organization founded in Aspen by Jayne Poss when she learns that 50% of children in many local schools enter kindergarten without adequate oral language skills. Programs reaches 391 children.
2009
Rick Blauvelt becomes Executive Director.
2012
Neighborhood outreach (Bolsitas Rojas) sessions begin in five communities.
RAR launches new series of mid-year parent presentations and discussion groups.
2013
At the request of several local schools, RAR begins programs for kindergarten classrooms
2014
Cumulative attendance at parent sessions reaches 1,200 (48 sessions)
2016
Red bags reach 1,800 families
2019
Cindy Blachly becomes Executive Director.
2021
Suzanne Wheeler becomes Executive Director.
2022
Raising A Reader receives $89,000 Circle Grant from State of Colorado
Raising A Reader in the Classroom
We are proud to partner with these schools to bring our programs to students and families
Aspen & Snowmass Village
Early Learning Center
Little Red School House
The Cottage
Basalt
Basalt Kindergarten
Basalt Preschool
Eagle County Early Head Start
Growing Years Preschool
Carbondale
Crystal River Preschool
Little Blue Preschool
Glenwood Springs
CMC Mini College Preschool
Glenwood Springs Kindergarten
Glenwood Springs Preschool
Kid's Corner Preschool
Riverview Kindergarten
Sopris Preschool
Two Rivers Community Kindergarten
Yampah High School Teen Parent Program
New Castle
Hollyana Daycare
Kathryn Senor Preschool
Rifle
Emmanuel Lutheran Preschool
Grand Mesa Preschool
Highland Kindergarten
Highland Preschool
Wamsley Preschool
Silt
Cactus Valley Preschool
Honey Bees Preschool
Parachute
Center for Family Learning Preschool
Community funding partners
$20,000+
Anonymous
Buell Foundation
Federal Paycheck Protection Program
$10,000 - $19,999
Aspen Community Foundation
Chevron
Kids First
Morgridge Family Foundation
Pitkin County
$5,000 - $9,999
Garfield County Board of County
Commissioners
Adam and Melony Lewis
$1,000 - $4,999
Alpenglow Foundation
Alpine Bank
Aspen Skiing Company Family Fund
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation
Kelly and Emily Boggs
Castaways Foundation
City of Aspen
Lulu Colby
Wells Fargo
Friedman Family Fdn
Gallegos Corporation
Garvik Construction
Laura & Michael Kaplan
Sheila & Bill Lambert
Rifle Community Foundation
Rotary Club of Aspen
George Shaver
The Spidell Foundation
Thrift Shop of Aspen
Town of Basalt
Town of Snowmass Village
Umbrella Roofing
United Way of Eagle River Valley
Robin Van Norman
Walmart - Glenwood Springs
Frank & Tamara Woods
J. Robert Young Foundation
$500 - $999
Aspen Elks Lodge #224
Grand Valley Kiwanis
Nancy and Barton Levin
Mandy and John Murray
Jayne and Bill Poss
Terri and Sam Potter
SGM
Town of Carbondale
$100 - $499
Anonymous
Jenny Ayers
John Bennett
Shannon Birzon
Cindy Blachly
Rick Blauvelt & Candace Goodwin
Rick Carlson
Paula Derevensky
Hilary Drummond
Deborah Fifer
Tish and Dean Filiss
Harriman Construction
Judith Huston
Jennifer Jackson
Melissa Jankovsky
Robert Johnson
Jill Knaus
Tracy and Glen Larner
Brett Lear
William Lightstone
Anne Lorenson
Jamie Nims
Caroline Norquist
Lynda Palevsky
Marci and Robert Pattillo
Courtney and Dan Petre
Elizabeth Reynolds
Mary Ellen Rogers
Rebecca Ruland and Terry Shanahan
Pam Yarus and Theron Russell
Marina Sharpe
Amelia Shelley
Herbert Shugrue
Lorraine Spector
Robin Tolan
Up to $99
Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty
Kimbo Brown-Schirato
Georgia Chamberlain
Nicole Christianson
Lisa Dancing Light
Angie Davlyn
Deborah Dawson & Dean Gordon
Peter and Julie Dolan
Vivian and Ed Elbert
Dana Fantauzzo
Nancy Frizell
Ruth Harrison
Susan Keenan
Sarah Kemme and Bill Anscheutz
Wewer Keohane
Pamela Lauman
Sandra and Donald Marlin
Sharon McLin
Carol Pasternak
Karen Pierson
Gary Schalla
Donna Shugrue
Susan Slater
Tami Solondz
Joe Sontag
Margaret Steldt
Donna Ward
Dorothy and Michael Wells
Susan and Vincent Yoder
Thelma & Gary Zabel
IN KIND
Alpine Bank
Aspen Times
Basalt Regional Library
English in Action
Garfield County Libraries
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
La Tricolor
Pinwill’s Frozen Yogurt
Pitkin County Library
Raising A Reader National
River Center of New Castle
Sopris Sun
Frank Taverna
The Art Base