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

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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

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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

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New Castle

Hollyana Daycare

Kathryn Senor Preschool

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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

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$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

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$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

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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

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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

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