Making Reading FUN One Accessory at a Time!
Beartastic Readers is a grassroots, 100% volunteer non-profit dedicated to improving children's lives through education.
How It Works
Our program is designed to help Grade School learners develop a love for reading. We believe that reading is not only important for academic success, but also for personal growth and enrichment.
The kids in our Beartastic Readers program engage in a heartwarming activity: they adopt, name, and personalize their reading buddy - a cuddly stuffed bear! These bears are generously provided to students at no cost. With each book they read and successfully comprehend, they accumulate points that can be redeemed for a variety of accessories to further customize their beloved reading companions.
We have witnessed tremendous enthusiasm and success from over 150 Grade School students over the past two school years and have plans to extend this program to 325 additional students next school year. We'd love your help to reach that goal!
Reading Proficiency by Third Grade is Critical!
“The fact is that low-income fourth graders who cannot meet the NAEP’s (National Assessment of Educational Progress) proficient level in reading today are all too likely to become our nation’s lowest-income, least-skilled, least-productive, and most costly citizens tomorrow. Simply put, without a dramatic reversal of the status quo, we are cementing educational failure and poverty in the next generation.”
– EARLY WARNING! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters – The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Beartastic Readers in the News
Henryetta Elementary Educators Launch Program to Promote Reading
HENRYETTA, Okla. — Educators at Wilson Elementary are promoting literacy one bear at a time.
The school, just a few miles north of Henryetta, started the Beartastic Readers program.
Meagan Williams created this program in 2022 with only 20 bears that she made.
At the beginning of the school year, students adopt a bear. Students can then earn accessories for their bears by reading books.
"They went crazy with it. Last year they read almost 20,000 books," Williams said.
Help Children Take Flight
Help Children Take Flight
Help Children Take Flight
So it is with children who learn to read fluently and well: They begin to take flight into whole new worlds as effortlessly as young birds take to the sky.
~ William James, American Philosopher, Psychologist,
and Pragmatist
Be a Champion
Help Children Take Flight
Help Children Take Flight
Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
~ Rita Pierson, Educator
Help Our Cause
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and fund our mission.
Each $25 you donate helps one grade school child to embrace a love for reading and positively impact their education, lives and opportunities.
REcent Events
Comedy Night Fundraiser for The Beartastic Readers
LAFTech and Good Brewing Co. in Bothell, Washington sponsored "An Evening with Sam Miller & Friends," a comedy night fundraiser for The Beartastic Readers on Tuesday, June 4th at 7pm.
LAFTech, a Engagement Coaching company in Washington State is a big supporter of The Beartastic Readers mission.
See images of the event below.
Our Bright Futures Fund
Student Success Sponsorship Fund
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