Striving to make access to books and reading a core part of the care that kids receive in the hospital, with the premise that literacy support for children fighting cancer and other life-altering conditions can help promote cognitive health and social connections that are part of thriving through treatment and beyond
ECBC helps hospitalized kids thrive through treatment by…
September 2: Through ECBC’s mobile gifting library cart, ECBC’s volunteers gift books to CHOC patients who are in isolation and not able to leave their room to enjoy other areas of the hospital (i.e., the radio station, movie theatre room, Family Resource Center). The cart has high-quality books for all kids from infants through teens and young adults that range in topic and genre to meet kids’ varying interests and reading levels.
To support ECBC’s mobile library cart for patients in isolation, CLICK HERE — $10 provides a new gifting library book, $50 provides five new books for the cart, and $5000 re-stocks the entire cart!
THANK YOU for supporting BOOK IT and helping to honor cancer warriors during this month!
If you haven’t yet supported ECBC’s BOOK IT 2020 Virtual Book Drive, please consider doing so now! ECBC was born out of Ethan’s experience at CHOC Children’s Hospital while battling Leukemia — where he noticed that books and reading were so grossly missing from patients’ lives at the hospital yet felt so deeply that they helped him to escape, connect, think, and thrive through treatment. Please help ECBC keep on going with its mission to bring books and reading to all hospitalized kids and especially oncology patients — we can’t do this without our community’s support!
While ECBC’s volunteer programs at CHOC have been on hold due to Covid, we are gearing up to launch Covid-modified programs that don’t require volunteers (with the awesome help of CHOC’s outpatient oncology nursing team). This includes delivering ECBC’s Read Think Thrive Book Bags to every cancer diagnosis (via the nurses, rather than our volunteers);establishing a mobile gifting library cart on the outpatient side to deliver a book to oncology patients whenever they visit OPI for an infusion or the oncology clinic; building a virtual book club for teen cancer warriors that includes giving them Kindles and monthly e-books; and gifting themed books to patients during the holidays (including Halloween, December holidays). To proceed with these plans, and also to sustain our regular programs once we are given the green light to bring our volunteers back, we desperately need to raise more funds!
The BOOK IT 2020 fundraising campaign was set to end Monday September 7th, which was the original date of the onsite BOOK IT 2020 run. Since we have raised only 1/3 of our goal and we are committed to our new covid-inspired plans with CHOC, we are extending the virtual campaign through the month of September. In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, each day of September we will share one specific way that ECBC helps kids to thrive — in hopes that you will pick one way that resonates with you and help fund it! Please help if you can — ECBC needs it more than ever, and so do the kiddos stuck in the hospital (without the usual volunteers and diversions per covid rules!).
Here’s way #1 that ECBC helps hospitalized kids thrive through treatment:
Through our amazing inpatient bedside reading program, ECBC gets kids to put down their screen for 15-30 minutes in order to connect with a bedside reader who is 100% present, engaging , and eager to have a literature-inspired social interaction.
To support ECBC’s bedside reading program, please CLICK HERE — $20 provides a hardcover (easily cleanable) book for our Lending Library and bedside reading program.
THANK YOU for supporting BOOK IT and helping to honor cancer warriors during this month!
We are in the final three weeks of ECBC’s BOOK IT2020 Virtual Book Drive, and we have currently raised only about 25% of the funds that we need to keep providing books and reading to patients at CHOC. Although we are unable to host our annual charity run, our local hospitalized kids still need high-quality books and reading experiences. In fact, they need these more than ever, with the usual CHOC volunteers, visitors, and entertainment completely suspended for safety reasons. We are working hard to fund our programs that don’t depend on volunteers entering the hospital — including book bags for kids newly diagnosed with cancer, virtual book club sponsorships for oncology teens that include a Kindle and a year’s worth of monthly e-books, books for cancer patients to receive at each visit to the Outpatient Infusion Center, and books for special deliveries during the holidays (e.g., Halloween, Christmas). While most of our usual programming has happened through inpatient/child life, we are so excited to now be partnering with CHOC’s outpatient nursing and oncology clinic staff to make these deliveries happen in a safe manner. CHOC has asked ECBC to resume these programs in September to help support Childhood Cancer Awareness Month — so we really need help with funding to make this happen!
Please donate if you can by: (1) making a monetary contribution at www.runsignup.com/BOOKIT2020or (2) using this same link to “become a fundraiser” with your own BOOK IT donation page. If you can’t donate, please help us spread the word by sharing this post!
Read Think Thrive Bag, for kids newly diagnosed with cancer
THANK YOU FOR HELPING ECBC HELP HOSPITALIZED KIDS THRIVE WITH BOOKS AND READING!
Here’s today’s storytime to be aired at CHOC Children’s Seacrest Studios and broadcasted in patient rooms! A terrific story with a great lesson about honesty and perseverance.
To help ECBC go beyond our no-cost radio show to providing terrific books for hospitalized kids during covid, please CLICK HERE to donate to ECBC’s virtual book drive. www.runsignup.com/BOOKIT2020 to donate to ECBC’s virtual book drive.
Due to safety concerns and potential Covid-19 restrictions, ECBC will not be hosting our on-site events this year (neither the runs or the onsite book drive). We are, however, conducting the virtual book drive component of BOOK IT, which has been a success in the past two years and we hope will get a strong response this year. As ECBC’s annual fundraiser and only formal fundraising event, BOOK IT! provides the majority of the needed funds to sustain our book and reading programs at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Please help us to help kids keep on thriving through treatment!
To support BOOK IT 2020, you can:
Donate online.Click HEREto access the BOOK IT website and donate online.
Donate a book directly.Click HERE to access the BOOK IT 2020 Amazon Wish List.
Click below to view or share Ethan’s BOOK IT 2020 video plug:
SAVE THE DATE! September 6, 2021. BOOK IT! will return next year with our onsite walk/run events, community book drive, and costume contest. Please mark your calendars!
Thank you for helping Orange County’s hospitalized kids thrive thrive through treatment!
It was so fun to celebrate a successful BOOK IT 2019 with this amazing team! We went over BOOK IT summary numbers (net profit was $30,000, 13,000 more than BOOK IT 2018), reflected on positives and areas needing improvement, and started our planning for BOOK IT 2020. And, we got to meet in the beautiful Fenny’s Flowers studio and make succulent pumpkins! Thank you Fenny for hosting! I am so grateful for this group’s commitment to ECBC and wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing at CHOC without them! Danielle and David Clawson, we missed you!
A HUGE thank you to our AWESOME community for joining us last Sunday at Ethan & Choco’s Book Club’s (ECBC) 2nd annual charity run and book drive —BOOK IT! Racing for Reading for Hospitalized Kids! Approximately 400 racers (and nearly 500 total including volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and supporters) came to walk, run, fundraise, book-raise, and make our event an amazing success! The amount of funds raised is still to be determined, but it is looking like we will have a net profit that exceeds our profit from BOOK IT 2018. The book drive component of the event was also super successful: the online pre-event book drive resulted in over 95 hardcover book donations and 132 Read+Think+Thrive book box donations for kids diagnosed with cancer, and the onsite book drive yielded hundreds more new books. What a great (and needed) boost to our Lending and Gifting libraries at CHOC! Beyond the funds and books raised, many made their mark on the Handprint Wall with their book recommendation for the CHOC library, jumped in the bounce house, used the photo booth, spun the big wheel and bought books from Scholastic, met authors and bought signed copies of books, donated purchased books at the ECBC booth, wrote Care Cards to go in oncology kids’ book boxes, had their faces painted and cartoon caricatures drawn, warmed up with CHOCO the CHOC bear mascot, enjoyed the all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast, participated in the book character costume contest, and raced their hearts out on the beautiful Jeffrey Open Space Trail. It was so fun to see so many doing this in their bright orange “BOOK IT!” shirts and sporting “Run Read Thrive” medals!. Congratulations to top 5K finishers (male winner Timothy Lam, female winner Kaylah Tasser) and to our 10K winners (male – Sam Juliano, female – Helena Madden), as well as to all age division winners. And congratulations to Costume Contest winners (the Peter Pan family, Elephant & Piggie, and the Harry Potter couple) and to everyone who added to our themed race by sporting literary costumes!
Thank you to Jeffrey Trail Middle School, Irvine Unified School District, and the city of Irvine for providing us with a fantastic location for our event. Thank you to Caren Ware and Itz About Time for their expertise in course management and timing equipment. My deepest thank you to our Title Sponsor, KOI CBD for stepping up in the final weeks before race day to support our cause (click here to learn more), and a huge thank you to all of our sponsors: Paris Family Trust (T-Shirt Sponsor), Behr Paint (Medals Sponsor), Enderle Center (Handprint Wall Sponsor), Rise Up Foundation (Costume Contest Sponsor), 5 Boroughs Book Club (Double Book Box Sponsor), VOIT Real Estate (Double Book Box Sponsor), Sur West Homes (Book Box Sponsor) and AA Jewel Box, Cancer clothing, Erin Denes/Berkshire Hathaway Realtor, and Adriene Madden/Magic Maple Tree for your in-kind sponsorships. Thank you as well to all of our event partners: Children’s Hospital of Orange County, KidsREAD!, MaxLove Project, PaKua Martial Arts, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics Orange County Chapter, Orange County Children’s Book Festival, Orange County Public Library Foundation, Orange County Department of Education, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Creative Parties for Kids. We couldn’t have pulled this off without all of our terrific sponsors and partners!
Also thank you to MC Andrea Kooiman for providing such an energetic and positive vibe; Master Clawson for leading a super fun warm-up; Emily Frye for all your help with design and artwork; Zov’s for proving the waters; Smart & Final and Sprouts for providing bananas and oranges; Kiwanis Club of Irvine for the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast; Francie Rosen and Balloons Sound Great for the 1K Fun Run Arch; and Abigail Tweedt for stepping up to sing the National Anthem. Thank you to Scholastic Books for providing terrific titles to sell for the onsite book drive as well as your significant donation of books. Thank you to children’s authors Sheri Fink, Mara James, Derek Taylor Kent, Adriene Madden, Jennifer Gray Olson, Dan Paley, and Suzi Shaffer for joining us with signed copies of your books for the book drive, and thank you to Susie Alexander / Once Upon a Storybook for inviting authors and being a vital part of our cause and events. Thank you to Barry Ackerman, Event Coordinator, who worked tirelessly on many aspects of the event and without whom BOOK IT! would not have been possible. And thank you to the rest of the BOOK IT 2019 planning team for your hard work in the weeks and months leading up to event day — especially Susie Alexander, Sandy Tweedt, Fenny Kokenge, Mary Kay Viscounty, Deb Kennard, David and Danielle Clawson, and Julie Schulman. It was our first year to have a planning team, and as such they helped to secure sponsors, authors, volunteers, and participants — thus expanding our reach in the community. Also, this event would not have happened without the great volunteers who came out to help on race day. Thank you to the Assistance League of Tustin, ECBC’s Bedside Readers, Girl Scout Troop #3115, Nicole Photoglou, Toby and Roger Kuo, Denes family, and Tyler Yang. This event is a big undertaking for our tiny organization, and it truly does take a community to pull it off. You are all so appreciated.
And finally, thank you to the many individuals and families who came out to help make the event such a success! A special thank you to the awesome 36 participants who signed up for the 10K, which was a new event this year that we hope provides a starting place for growth in future BOOK ITs! Thank you to the many participants (many whom we don’t know) who promoted on social media, recruited more participants (the “shares” directly resulted in registrations) and called teams together. A huge shout out to our largest teams: Hewes Middle School, Equalizers, Sherwin-Williams/IREM OC, MatchPoint Tennis Academy, Foothill High School, and Arroyo Elementary School.
I sincerely hope that our community views ECBC’s cause as their cause too, benefiting the kids of Orange County who end up in the hospital. With two years of our charity run under our belt, we hope to continue to grow our annual event so that it continues to support our growing reading programs at CHOC, and hopefully someday a sustainable library there as well. THANK YOU FOR “BOOKING IT” FOR READING FOR KIDS AT CHOC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL! See you back next year for BOOK IT! 2020!
** If you couldn’t make it on race day but would still like to contribute to our annual fundraiser — either because you want to support BOOK IT! directly or as a way to honor childhood cancer awareness month, it’s not too late! The online book drive/fundraising campaign will be running for a month after the event, until October 8, 2019.
TO DONATE ONLINE, CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ALBUM OF RACE DAY PHOTOS, CLICK HERE TO VIEW RACE DAY RESULTS, CLICK HERE TO VIEW ETHAN’S OPENING WORDS, CLICK HERE TO VIEW RUNNERS BOOKING IT, CLICK HERE]
One of the best things about running ECBC’s bedside reading program at CHOC Children’s Hospital is the feedback from our expert read aloud volunteers after a shift at CHOC. The reports of “yes, I want a read aloud”, of the child’s reaction to the book, of the requests for “one more story.” These are kids that are often not in school, may spend significant time on screens, and sometimes have few to none literature-based experiences or opportunities to escape their hospital world. Yesterday, both bedside reader volunteers reported that the highlight of their day was their session with a 12- and a 13- year-old boy (the age/gender combo that tends to be the most reluctant to get a “yes” from). Both read aloud picture books with true stories — one of a World War 2 soldier’s friendship with a local Filipino girl (Tucky Jo and Little Heart, by Patricia Polocco) and the other a story of a con man who posed as a government official to “sell” the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal dealers before being caught and imprisoned (Tricky Vic, by Greg Pizzoli ). Two teen/tweenage boys, agreeing to being read, agreeing to picture books (albeit sophisticated ones that target an older audience), connecting with another, dialoguing about a new story with rich content …that’s what this is all about. Allowing books and reading to help kids THRIVE while at the hospital, not just get through their stay.
As of September, ECBC’s bedside reading program is expanding from one to two days a week — allowing us to reach more hospital floors and more kids. This is one of ECBC’s reading programs, among others, that demand a successful charity run and book drive next weekend! So PLEASE join us!! Click image below to register, donate, and more! Nine days to go…Please sign up now!!
Please join us on September 8th in Irvine and walk/run for reading for hospitalized kids! Click the e-flyer below to register, join or create a team, donate, and more! Donate to our new book drive online or onsite to get a free pancake breakfast! And dress up as your favorite children’s book character and participate in our costume contest!
Please watch Ethan’s video and sign up for BOOK IT! 2019, ECBC’s 2nd Annual Charity Run — Sunday, September 8 at Jeffrey Trails Middle School and Jeffrey Open Space Trail in Irvine…
ECBC’s 2nd annual charity run is just 6 weeks away, and we are urgently needing a title sponsor at the $5000 level. Title sponsor receives event naming on the start/finish banner, large logo on t-shirt, website presence, and up to 10 runner registrations. PLEASE share this with family and friends who could be potential sponsors! We also are looking for corporate sponsors ($3500), book box sponsors ($500+) and in-kind sponsors that cover items such as bounce house, photo booth, etc ($250). CLICK HERE for the sponsor form, and CLICK HERE to see which sponsor levels are taken and still needed.
A HUGE thank you to those in our community who have committed to sponsor BOOK IT #2!! Paris Family Trust (T-shirt Sponsor), Behr Paint Company (Medal Sponsor), Enderle Center (Handprint Wall Sponsor), Rise Up Foundation (Costume Contest Sponsor), Voit Real Estate (two Book Box sponsorships), Cancer Clothing (In-Kind), and Erin Denes/Berkshire Hathaway (In-Kind). The success of our event and continuation of our reading programs for hospitalized kids are dependent on your support , so we are hugely grateful.
If you haven’t signed up yet, please CLICK HERE to register. We are currently behind last year’s numbers, yet we need to double them in order to sustain our book and reading programs at CHOC Children’s Hospital! Also, when you register (or if you can’t join us), please consider donating to our virtual book drive (using the same registration link) — which last year was able to provide enough book boxes and books to maintain 6-8 months of our programs. 1K/5k/10K, custom medals and t-shirts for all participants, division winner awards, book character costume contest with prizes, and option to purchase a pancake breakfast. Donate a book or book box online when you register, or bring a new book to the run on race day — and receive a free pancake breakfast!
ECBC’s 2nd annual charity run and book drive is just around the corner, and we need your support in order to sustain/grow our book and reading programs at CHOC Children’s Hospital!
BOOK IT! Racing for Reading of Hospitalized Kids will be on Sunday, September 8th at Jeffrey Trails Middle School and Jeffrey Open Space Trail! You can help in one or more of these four ways:
Register to run in the 5K, 10K or 1K Fun Run. All runners receive a custom BOOK IT! T-shirt, medal, and electronic timing results. Sign up easily at www.runsignup.com/runreadthrive
Contribute to our online book drive by donating $20 for a new hardcover book for ECBC’s lending library or $100 for a book box for children at CHOC who are newly diagnosed with cancer. Online and onsite book donors will receive a ticket for a free pancake breakfast at the race. Click HEREto donate online.
Be a BOOK IT! Sponsor! We need sponsorships at all levels, including T-Shirt Sponsor, Medal Sponsor, and Title Sponsor. Click HERE to check out the enclosed Sponsor Form for the variety of sponsor levels,; all sponsors will receive name or logo recognition on the BOOK IT! t-shirt. Email Ali@ECbookclub.com for more information.
SHARE this post or the BOOK IT! registration link — www.runsignup.com/runreadthrive. Last year we had almost 500 participants, and we are aiming to double the turnout this year to meet the needs of our growing programs. Please help us expand our community of supporters!
BOOK IT! Is currently our primary means of fundraising and bookraising! We need all the support we can get so that we can continue to help hospitalized kids thrive through treatment with the help of books and reading. THANK YOU!
