Reading Rainbow has Gone Twice as High

A little over a week ago I made this post about Reading Rainbow's Kickstarter campaign. At the time Reading Rainbow had surpassed its initial $1 Million goal and was working towards a $5 Million stretch goal. A lot has happened since then!

Reading Rainbow's Kickstarter campaign has set a new Kickstarter Record for Most Backers (they're over 100,000!). Seth MacFarlane matched dollar-for-dollar up to $1 Million for each dollar pledged over $4 Million. The top Kickstarter campaigns - such as the Veronica Mars team - stepped up to help (prizes, PR, and awesomeness like there). Tons of new prizes have been added.

It has been incredible to watch the dedication to this project.

Now, with only 6 hours to go Reading Rainbow has gone 'twice as high.' They have surpassed their $5 Million stretch goal! This $5M will enable Reading Rainbow to supply 7,500 classrooms for free and supply Mobile, Android, Consoles, and OTT Boxes. It is amazing. But it isn't over until it is over! For every $100,000 raised over  $5 Million, 500 more classrooms will be reached for free. This means that more students in more classrooms will have the opportunity to not only learn the rudiments of reading, but foster a love for it. When children - heck, even adults - love something, they do it and they love learning about it.

This Bring Reading Rainbow Back for Every Child, Every Where campaign has been close to my heart. I am a self diagnosed read-a-holic. I'm addicted. And if there is a therapy for it, I don't want it. My addiction to love of reading has been a blessing. Growing up, my health has always been a struggle. There were days, weeks even, I could not get out of bed. I was in pain, exhausted, or both. I was trapped inside a prison that was my own body. My friendships drifted. It was frustrating, upsetting, depressing - insert whatever adjective or verb you want. Yet, I was positive.

Without reading, I don't think I would have been so positive or happy. Maybe that is an overstatement, because finding the joy in many areas of my life got me through, but the point is: reading was important. Reading is more than opening a book and sounding out words on the page.


My love of reading opened many doors for me. Because of my love of reading, I loved to learn. Learning was fun! (Even now, as I enter my senior year of college, I keep that same outlook towards learning. It has help me come so far.) My love of reading erupted a volcano of creativity within my soul. Books are gateways to any where, any place. You can be anyone. Do anything. Books are maps to infinity. My imagination soared with them and it has never come back down. I write, read, draw, day dream, paint, scrapbook, and craft - all with this creative spark books placed inside my soul. More over, I can invent and analyze with it. This creativity has allowed me to think outside of the box. I've discovered a lot of what is wrong with my health this way and it is going to help my future as a physician diagnosing patients.

So, when I would sit there in pain or lay in my bed, unable to move in exhaustion I had an escape. I could transcend this fleshly prison and travel anywhere. I devoured books 2 or 3 at a time, week after week. Some only took a few hours to read. Others, maybe a few days. I was hungry for them. Then I just started learning things. I researched about history and science, reading all about them and finding passions there. When I became tired of that, I would write for hours, draw, paint, scrapbook, craft, or day dream. I was never bored. Maybe I was trapped in a room or in my house, but I was going everywhere.

Just remembering it brings a huge smile to my face.

As a kid I watched Reading Rainbow. Between every episode I faithfully watched and every book my parents read to me before bed, a love of reading was bound to ignite. I cannot say that one was more important than another because in my mind they are inextricably linked; however, Reading Rainbow did show me how reading and learning went together, enhancing each other. All of the real-life segments, where LeVar traveled and visited places related to the books being read were an example of how reading ties in with our lives, the world, and our learning. It showed me how with reading I could go anywhere, do anything, and be anyone. For a kid, that's pretty powerful. Those are tools that can be used throughout life in every aspect.

This is why Reading Rainbow's return is so important. But, as Levar Burton would say, you don't have to take my word for it.

Here are some of my other amazing Blogger Friends who shared with me how much Reading Rainbow meant to them:

"I loved it!! (...) it was a staple in my life!" - Raewyn from Be a Warrior Queen.

 "I loved Reading Rainbow! (...) We used it at school sometimes, and I can still remember the song. I'm intending on going into publishing and programs like Reading Rainbow, Between the Lions, and my local library definitely helped with that." -  Julia from Pennies & Paper.

"I was able to play the old shows for my kids at my school and they loved it as much as I did as a kid.  My students enjoyed watching the old episodes of Reading Rainbow and Magic School Bus. " - Pam from Hodge Podge Moments and Moments to Teach.

"I watched Reading Rainbow as a kid all of the time and loved it. It's such a trip to watch it now with my kids, but they love it as well. It is a super important show and I would love to see this cause come to life! It's a great way to inspire kids to dive into a storybook and stay hooked." -Amby from Amby Felix.


Lastly, Astrid over at Astrid Stars has also written her own post about Reading Rainbow's Kickstarter - go check it out!

The deadline for the campaign is Wed, July 2, 2014 3:00 PM.  In case you or someone you know still wants to help out...Helping out with the cause is easy: spread the word, share the Kickstarter, encourage others to donate, and, if you can, donate. The donation options run from $1-on up. Every small donation makes a difference, just as much as the large ones. However, the larger the donations you give, the cooler the gifts. (College student here, so I’m sticking to the $1-$10 donation options)