As former educators, we here at The Generation Project are ashamed to admit that we were unaware until recently that March is National Reading Month.¹  My own excuse is that I was always distracted by the fact that March is also National Screw Up Your Bracket By Picking Notre Dame To Go To The Final Four Month. 

Having discovered that March is National Reading Month, though, we thought we would take the opportunity to feature two reading-related gifts that donors have recently implemented through The Generation Project's pilot program. For those of you who don't know, our pilot program has been implementing a limited number of donor-designed gifts  in Detroit and New York City schools in advance of our official launch, and two of the March gifts implemented through the pilot program explicitly shared with students the gift of reading:

Amber Hermosillo--Gift of American Girl Books (Implemented in Mr. Piekara's Sixth Grade Class, Bronx, NY):
Growing up, Amber's favorite books were those in the American Girl historical fiction series. Because those particular books sparked Amber's passion for reading, she decided to purchase a complete set of American Girl books for a high-need urban classroom.  Amber's gift was implemented in Evan Piekara's sixth grade classroom at I.S. 162 in the Bronx.  Judging from the photographs that Mr. Piekara sent to us, it seems clear that there are a number of young readers in his class that share Amber's love of these particular books--and will hopefully go on to share Amber's lifelong love of reading.  Photographs of Amber and the kids, in montage form, below:

Duffy Fitzpatrick--Gift of Magic Tree House Books (Implemented at Wayne Elementary School, Detroit, MI):
When Duffy's son was in elementary school, she read through the Magic Tree House book series with him.  The series--which follows the time-traveling adventures of a brother-and-sister duo--teaches children about both literacy and history.  Having seen how her own son loved gravitated towards these books, Duffy decided to donate two full boxed sets of Magic Tree House books through The Generation Project.  Duffy's gift was implemented at Wayne Elementary School in Detroit.  Watch the video below to see how three third grade students think about reading--and why they are looking forward to the Magic Tree House books:

Both Amber and Duffy's gifts speak to a real need in many American schools.  It is virtually undisputed that reading is absolutely key to academic success--but students will never develop a love of reading if they aren't exposed to books that capture their attention and their imagination.  And, unfortunately, many schools simply don't have enough textual diversity in school or classroom libraries.  That's where donor-led philanthropy can come in: most people that love reading can name certain books that grabbed their attention growing up, and chances are, there's a kid out there who's going to gravitate towards those same books as well.  Donating a book, or a set of books, is an inexpensive way to make a personal and profound diffference in kids' lives.

Happy Reading Month from The Generation Project.

Editor's Note: By giving donors complete creative control over gifts geared towards high-need K-12 students, The Generation Project hopes to facilitate personal connection between donors and the kids they are helping.  As part of that effort, we are letting some of the students that we hope to affect to use this blog to write about their lives, their schools, and anything else they find interesting. Our hope is that, by posting kids' own words, we can give you, the donor, some insight into the interests and passions of the students you would be affecting with your gifts. To highlight the kids' own words, their posts are uncensored and unedited and represent the views of the kids and adolescents that authored them, NOT The Generation Project. 

This post was written by Ivan Guzman, a 15-year-old from the Bronx.  Read more about Ivan here:

I never thought I would write about the economy, and I'm not going to, exactly. I am going to write about some things that came about due to the economy. Like hypocritical Republicans like Lindsey Graham (I'll explain why he's hypocritical later, it's called a tease people) and Jim Cramer's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I'm also going to write about a McCain that I actually look forward to seeing more of (it's obviously not John because America doesn't want to see more of him, my proof is the 2008 election).

First, the hypocritical Republicans. Republicans' opposition to the stimulus was all about spending. They were not happy with the amount of earmarks in the bill. Yet when the bill passed and they lost, they decided to add in some earmarks of their own. One of those Republicans who did not surprise me was Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. I'm sure Graham would tell anyone his political career has been dedicated to outlawing earmarks yet he was one of the first to add to the many earmarks in the bill. After the first couple of days no one but MSNBC pointed this out (but then again MSNBC points out everything Republicans do wrong). That was until Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri pointed this out in a speech on the Senate floor. President Obama followed this up by scolding Republican hypocrisy also. Big ups to Senator McCaskill and Prez Obama!

Second, I was watching the Rachel Maddow Show (an EXCELLENT show) when Rachel mentioned she would have John McCain's daughter Meghan would be on the show. I thought 3 things:
1. WOW!! A Republican
2. What possible reason could she have for being on a liberal network?
3.She's probably lost.
It turns out she wasn't lost. In fact, she was there because she kind of takes exception to the message that Ann Coulter delivers in her books and other things. I was as shocked as you are (that last sentence will only work if you're shocked.....or if anyone is reading this). The hits keep coming though. Ms. McCain is a moderate Republican, she's actually willing to listen to liberals! As a liberal who's willing to listen I found that to be a breath of fresh air. Funny thing about young Republicans, I've never come across one. I'm almost convinced they don't exist other than Meghan McCain. I would like to hear more from her and not people who are just going to put their foot in their mouth whenever they go off-message (you hear that, MICHAEL STEELE?)

My thoughts on Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer and my Ann Coulter nickname contest, after the jump. More...