Eight: Getting SMARTer in Portland for Jody

My friend Jody, who just celebrated her birthday,  works with the amazing Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) and is  member representing the SMART board of today's Donations by the Dozen in Portland, OR. I admire MMT and use it as an role model for setting goals, daydreaming about philanthropic visions,  and achieving missions. MMT asks volunteers in Oregon to Start Making A Reader Today (SMART), and it's an amazing initiative matching thousands of volunteers with young students. "One child at a time. One volunteer at a time. One book at a time."Why? Because:Reading Matters.

SMART Knows Why Reading Matters
Reading is the gateway to learning, opening doors to faraway adventures, new possibilities and promising futures. Without strong reading skills, children will face a host of difficult challenges throughout their lives. That’s why we know Reading Matters. And that’s why SMART helps thousands of Oregon children each year develop the skills and self-confidence they need to read and succeed.

Check out this summary of the outcomes of SMART, and you can click on the image to go to the page for more.

Sorry for the poor quality of this pic

I highly believe in the importance of reading. I truly feel reading saved my life and continuously inspires me and expands my horizons. I was invited to the Author Fair in 2015 and had an excellent time seeing the works of other authors and meeting and signing books for people. We got to meet both volunteers and kids from the SMART program, and it was really one of the best days ever. If you are in Oregon, I strongly encourage you to check out SMART more thoroughly. My family and I have been supporters for a couple of years, and as a thank you, Jody sent me this incredible book published for SMART's 25th anniversary.
I feel like today's post is really filled with images, but I have to include this completely adorable Thank you video that appears on the donation confirmation page - seriously, how cute is this?

You've made a difference in my life in so many more ways, so thank you, Jody, or introducing me to the MMT and SMART - happy belated birthday.


You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/, on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly, or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html, where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen. Thanks and cheers to charity, m