NEWSLETTER
As we bade goodbye to a whirlwind year that saw us through many exciting happenings, new beginnings and myriad learnings, we look into 2018 with renewed hope and enthusiasm! With new initiatives lined up through this year, we are consistent in our efforts to clamber over the high walls of children’s imagination, and strive hard to make their first encounter with the written word, a delight.
And together with our partners, we are sure that we are not far from what we all started for –
a nation where every child reads!
Tamasha, our adorable elephant has begun her new year with reading books from our special 300M Library! She invites you to grab your copies of these unique books with a special
25% discount, only for the 300M Alliance members!
Here is a brief roundup of all that has happened in
the past two months!
Children’s Day book donation drives
Aseem’s Library
Aseem’s Library now has the fabulous books from Katha’s Gender Series in their libraries, that are a unique series of gender-positive books that address issues of gender and promote equity and equality. We hope that through Aseem’s Library the books help young readers debunk gender stereotypes, and provide them with a more balanced view of gender. They also conducted a special training session for Katha Fellows and Reading Mentors on library organisation and management.
Notable Mention:
The Principal, students and teachers of Bal Bharati School, Rohini, conducted a 15-day-long Book Donation Drive with an aim to help Katha’s 300M Libraries. They donated 500 books for our children.
Manav Sthali School collected 1000 books in the book donation drive conducted in their school. We were able to collect 3000+ story books for our community libraries.
You too can spread the word about such partnerships! Visit this page!
Bhagta Bharat
Bhagta Bharat has proudly completed FIVE 300M rallies in East Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon with Katha, to make everyone aware of the 300M Challenge!
Our friends at Bhagta Bharat have worked with 7200 children through ‘Each Child Teach a Child’ methodology, also called #ECTC.
Furthermore, they have helped open a library in Girls Government School in Khajuri, where they trained 3000 girls Each Child Teach Child methodology. We also have a community owned and operated library (COOLs!) in Lions’ Club and SSCA! 16 schools have now taken the 300M Challenge pledge!
CRY
We’re glad that CRY and Katha’s alliance for 300M Challenge is going strong! Katha has given its fabulous Gender Series books to them, to be used in their learning spaces.
Katha also delivered a workshop on its innovative Active Story Based Learning (ASBL) at CRY and introduced the fun Sesame Street — our other fabulous partner — Storytelling Marathi App to be used in Mumbai!
They have started reading activities with 84 children in Chennai with Katha Books!
CURE
We also did an engaging workshop with CURE volunteers on Active Story Based Learning (ASBL) and introduced them to our Gender Series books. To support and bolster their work with children, we also handed over some of the books developed by Katha to our friends at CURE
Facebook had given Katha AdGrant to spread the word about 300M Challenge! We have successfully used the same, to get in donations for our COOL! centres as well as for engaging volunteers through Digital Media!
Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH the Dalai Lama
We are so happy to have His Holiness’ Foundation on board as a partner to develop books on kindness and compassion for children! More on this soon!
FICCI
FICCI has very kindly extended us opportunities to connect with potential supporters of 300M Challenge. We are also working on a set of WASH books with FICCI’s support, that focus on making children aware of various Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues for 252 schools in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh and help them think up innovative ways to tackle them!
PVR
December was an exciting month for Katha, as PVR hosted ‘Spreading the Joy of Reading’ event where our Founder-President Ms Geeta Dharmarajan gave an insightful talk to encourage all corporates in Gurgaon to join the 300M Challenge, and donate their gently used books! This flagged off a massive ‘Book Donation Drive’ in Cyber Hub, and five book donation points were created in PVR theatres during Christmas!
PVR now has opened FOUR libraries with PVR Nest that stock Katha’s storybooks and 300M Library books! The fabulous 300M Challenge film was played for 2 weeks post27th Dec on PVR theatres!
PwC
PwC has been a great strategic partner who helped us design our fundraising strategy and proposals, in order to get like-minded people and organisations to support the 300M Challenge!
SEWA
SEWA has come forward and opened an amazing and colourful COOL! Centre in Raghubir Nagar!
Volunteers will now be taking up its management, and get more and more children into reading. Recently, SEWA also conducted a training workshop for Katha Fellows on Capacity Building.
Teach for India
Katha conducted an engaging workshop with about 50 Teach for India Fellows on Story Pedagogy and using stories in classrooms to help children read for fun and meaning!
Katha also handed out learning material to the Fellows
Social Offline
A big shout-out to Social Offline for joining the 300M Alliance! Katha, along with Socially and Social Offline, hosted an event at Hauz Khas Social, called ‘Digital Katha’ that aimed at getting digital marketers from all across Delhi to strategize a Digital Marketing plan for Katha’s storybook app called Hulgul Ka Pitara! We were very excited to meet some of the best minds in digital marketing who were driven to make children’s cause their own, and design exciting campaigns for the Hulgul Ka Pitara App.
Katha’s Search for Excellence in Creative Writing is designed to draw out the storyteller in every child and cultivate a culture of writing among young people! Know more about it here: https://katha.org/kathaut
600 students, teachers and parents participated from 72 schools across India and the Middle East. We had 25 powerhouse mentors, speakers, guests of honourlead the 3-day literary extravaganza to its grand success! A fabulous team of 70 Katha volunteers and team members worked behind the scenes day and night.
500+ private schools have taken the Each Child Teach Child pledge to reach the 300m Challenge Goals! 15 schools across India have started ECTC activities as a part of their SUPW program.
Read more about the event HERE
Look up our sneak peek album HERE
Follow 300m Challenge on social media!
