Readers 2 Leaders Helps Spread Message through Initial Distribution of 240 Tacky Box sets
Dallas, TX / www.myprgenie.com / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2014 / Through a generous donation by Freddy and Muffy O'Pry to Readers 2 Leaders (R2L), Tacky Box's Campaign for Kindness will kick off on May 14, 2014, with the initial distribution of Tacky Box Sets to most of the 240 West Dallas elementary students supported by R2L through on-site and afterschool tutoring programs.
Students at Gabe P. Allen Charter School, George Washington Carver Creative Arts Learning Center, C.F. Carr Elementary School, Sidney Lanier Expressive Arts Vanguard and Arcadia Park Elementary School -- all in West Dallas -- will each be given a Tacky Box Set, the award-winning interactive tool that teaches children to choose kindness over tacky language and behavior. The set includes the 32-page, beautifully illustrated, gender-specific book Margo's (or Max's) Magnificent Choice, recipient of the 2014 National Nautilus Book Award.
Chris Phelps, founder of the Campaign for Kindness and Tacky Box Set says, "Many of these children have never owned a book of their own, let alone a brand new, shiny hardback book, an eye-opening fact that will only reinforce the power of the lesson in kindness that we are focused on spreading through the Campaign for Kindness."
"Readers 2 Leaders' reading specialists will introduce the concept in small groups during the month of May with the support of the authors by reading the book and allowing the children to decorate their Tacky Boxes, practice writing down a tacky/unkind word or action they have said, heard or felt, and 'locking it up' inside their own Tacky Box to remove it from the heart and mind. Instructions in English and Spanish will be sent home to parents to reinforce the concept. "Our hope is to arm these children with the message and tool before summer begins," says Norma Nelson of R2L.
What is Campaign for Kindness?
The Tacky Box Campaign for Kindness is a collaborative effort to make the world a kinder place, one child at a time, by arming all kindergarten, first and second graders with their own Tacky Box Sets. Supporters of the campaign believe in the need to make the world a kinder place and that real change begins with children. By teaching children the power of words and actions and the importance of kindness at a young age, before the world makes its mark, we can collectively create a better world.
The key to the campaign's effectiveness is gifting a set to all children, not just those whose parents value the lesson and have purchasing power. Because educators play such an influential role in the lives of young children, these Tacky Box Sets will be introduced in the classroom. Each child will have their own set to take home to help monitor the world around them, regardless of what their home environment is like. The overarching goal is to create a national ripple effect of kindness as more and more children learn to distinguish between kind and "tacky" words and actions and make the choice to be kind.
What is Tacky Box?
Tacky Box is an award-winning interactive set that teaches children to choose kindness over tacky language and behavior. In addition to the 32-page hardback Margo's (or Max's) Magnificent Choice, the set includes a special notepad for writing down tacky words and actions, an authentic wooden Tacky Box to put them in "to remove them from the mind and heart," and directions for use from the authors. The Tacky Box Set is available for purchase at www.TackyBox.com. Each set costs $29.95 plus shipping.
Margo's (or Max's) Magnificent Choice was honored this spring with a 2014 National Nautilus Book Award. The Nautilus award, considered one of the major book awards, seeks to acknowledge books that "promote spiritual growth, conscious living and positive social change -- with the hope of offering life-affirming options with imagination and possibility to a world that longs for a new story."
For more information on the Tacky Box Set, go to www.TackyBox.com; Facebook -- www.facebook.com/TheTackyBox; Twitter -- www.twitter.com/thetackybox; YouTube -- www.youtube.com/thetackybox; or Pinterest -- www.pinterest.com/thetackybox.
About Readers 2 Leaders
Readers 2 Leaders (R2L), funded by a local attorney three years ago, is a Dallas-based nonprofit whose mission is to develop and grow the reading skills of children ages 3 -- 10 in West Dallas so that they succeed in school and graduate prepared to live productive lives. R2L employs reading specialists who work on site in underprivileged elementary schools and provide daily tutoring to children whose reading skills are behind. Through its on-site and after school tutoring program, R2L currently supports 240 elementary students.
R2L believes in the importance of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL involves the processes through which children acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. The Tacky Box Set is in alignment with Social-Emotional Learning.
Media is invited to cover the kick-off of the Campaign for Kindness:
When: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 4pm
Where: Booktown
2223 Singleton Blvd. Suite 140
Dallas, TX 75212
Contact: Dana Cobb, [email protected], 972-955-9747
SOURCE: Readers 2 Leaders