For the past few years I have heard of libraries offering kids the option to donate to a non-profit organization instead of receiving prizes for summer reading. We give out a lot of fun little plastic toys, erasers, etc but I really want to teach kids life lessons whenever I can. (don't worry I am not preachy with them!)
This year for a change I set aside a little bit of the money I would normally use on summer reading incentive prizes to be used to donate to several non-profit organizations. This has turned out to be a huge success! This is how the program worked:
I created "Make a difference in the world" certificates (template) and placed them in the prize box. For every ten stickers a child gets on their reading chart (15 minutes=1 sticker) they get to pick a prize from the box. For these donation certificates kids must trade in 20 of their stickers and the library will donate $1.00 to the charity they choose. The charities I had as options include the local animal shelter, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Red Cross.
The real sacrifice for the kids is that they can have to give up not one but two prizes to donate to a charity. Parents are really excited about this program and love seeing their selfless children make such decisions.
At the end of the summer I send each charity a check along with a letter wit the names of all the kids who donated and how many hours they read to make their donation.
If there are issues with using public funding to run this program hook up with a local business and have them sponsor it. You can have a finite amount of dollars put away for the program. Be sure to research the charity you choose to make sure it fits with the libraries mission and is legit.
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