Room to Read

Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

John Wood, Founder and CEO, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal. He visited several local schools and was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers, but also saddened by the shocking lack of resources. Driven to help, John quit his senior executive position with Microsoft and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges.

Founding Room to Read, John wove proven corporate business practices with his inspiring vision to provide educational access to 10 million children in the developing world. His novel approach to non-profit management called for:

* Scalable, measured, sustainable results
* Low-overhead, allowing maximum investment in educational infrastructure
* Challenge grants fostering community ownership and sustainability
* Strong local staff and partnerships creating culturally relevant programs

Room to Read began working with rural communities in Nepal in 2000 to build schools and establish libraries. The organization's geographic reach expanded rapidly as significant needs and opportunities were identified in Vietnam (2001), Cambodia (2002) and India (2003). The Asian Tsunami in December 2004 provided a catalyst for entry into Sri Lanka followed shortly by Laos. In 2006, we expanded to our second continent by launching Room to Read in South Africa.
Programs

Room to Read has developed a holistic, multi-pronged approach to help children in the developing world gain the lifelong gift of education. The approach includes the following programs:

* School Room — We partner with villages to build schools.
* Reading Room — We establish bi-lingual libraries and fill them with donated English books and local language books purchased in-country or self-published, creating a colorful space with posters, games, furniture, and flooring.
* Local Language Publishing — We source new content from local writers and illustrators and publish high-quality local language children's books to distribute throughout our networks.
* Computer & Language Room — We establish labs to provide students with vocational skills and employment access.
* Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship — We fund long-term girls' scholarships for young girls who would otherwise not have access to an education.

To increase the likelihood for success and long-term sustainability, Room to Read enlists community involvement and co-investment through our Challenge Grant model. Villages often raise a significant portion of the overall expenditure in the form of dedicated space, labor, materials and/or small amounts of cash. These challenge grants act as catalysts for community building while also maximizing the local participation and expertise brought to our programs.

We hire local staff, who are personally vested in their nation's educational progress and we empower them to make key programmatic decisions within their country. They are already familiar with the language, conditions, customs and governments and understand the specific needs of the educational system and work to ensure that we craft new solutions to existing problems.
Results to Date

Since our inception in 2000, Room to Read has impacted the lives of over 1.3 million children by:

* Constructing 287 schools
* Establishing over 3,870 libraries
* Publishing 146 new local language children's titles representing over 1.3 million books
* Donating over 1.4 million English language children's books
* Funding 3,448 long-term girls' scholarships
* Establishing 136 computer and language labs