News
Operation Outreach Over the Years
School Year 2016-2017
Author Visits Evergreen School in New Jersey
Bertucci's Fundraiser
In our hometown of Holliston, Massachusetts, Bertucci's ran a fundraiser for Operation Outreach in early March. Thank you to all the locals and not-so-locals who turned out to support our Holliston-based non-profit organization as we endeavor to provide resources to improve literacy in young readers. To read the full article, click here.
School Year 2015-2016
Boston Bruins and OO-USA Visit Boston School
The Boston Bruins and Operation Outreach-USA visit the Josiah Quincy School in Boston, Massachusetts. The Josiah Quincy students received books donated by Operation Outreach-USA and the Boston Bruins mascot, Blades and Ice Girl Lauren visited to read books to the kindergarten and first grade students. Hats off to the Boston Bruins! Thank you for promoting literacy in our schools!
Glover Community School in Glover, VT
Glover Community School in Vermont is one of 22 schools in the Northeast Kingdom that are sponsored by local residents, Carl and Susan Taylor. The Taylors have funded the OO-USA literacy program in their area for 6 years. Thank you for your generous donation.
Fickett Elementary in Atlanta, Georgia
Fickett Elementary and 4 other elementary schools in Atlanta, Georgia have received the OO-USA literacy program through the generosity of the American Humane Education Society. Our books include "be kind to animals" themes thus align perfectly with the American Humane Education Society. Students at the Atlanta schools have enjoyed the program for 8 years and counting!
Welcome Dollar General
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is our newest sponsor and is funding the OO-USA literacy program in Springfield, Massachusetts. Thank you Dollar General for your efforts in improving literacy!
Great News! New Board Member!
We are pleased to introduce our new board member, Marcia Fishman. Marcia is the author of one of our books, Rudolph Nose Knows. Marcia is the owner of Rudolph, the blind and deaf dachshund that is the protagonist (and hero) in the book. Marcia visits schools every year, donating her book and her time to young readers throughout the Detroit area. Her anti-bullying message and character lesson are very important in the school environment.
Welcome Marcia to the Operation Outreach-USA family!
School Year 2014-2015
Readers in Hilo, Hawaii
The keiki (children) and teachers at Hilo Union Elementary School thank Target for sponsoring young readers in Hilo, Hawaii. Operation Outreach-USA has provided literacy programs in all 50 states as well as the Bahamas, British Columbia, Guam, and Cambodia due the generosity of our many sponsors.
Mahalo! (Thank you!)
A Review of our New Book, Violet
Click here to read the Violet Review
We can't wait for you to read the review of our new book, Violet on the Latin@s in Kid Lit website! Bravo...again...to author Alidis Vicente and illustrator Nancy Cote for this wonderful addition to our program!
School Year 2013-2014
Congratulations! The Coquí and The Iguana named Best Books of 2013
We are so proud to announce that author Alidis Vicente's The Coquí and The Iguana illustrated by Nancy Cote was named one of the Best Books of 2013 by The Latina Book Club. To view the whole list, click here: 2013 Latina Book Club Best Books.
Young Readers in Western Mass Receive New Books
With the help of the Beveridge Foundation and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, 1800 children in Holyoke and Springfield, MA will be receiving books to call their own.
Read On! Campaign, Cincinnati Ohio
Operation Outreach just participated in the kick-off of the READ ON! campaign. The campaign is aimed at getting children in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to be reading proficiently by the third grade. Operation Outreach donated 300 books that were distributed to Cincinnati's school children at the kick-off event and provided program information to corporate sponsors.
The Nora Roberts Foundation Sponsors DC Schools
Our newest sponsor, The Nora Roberts Foundation will fund the Operation Outreach literacy program in four elementary schools in Washington D.C. The primary focus of The Nora Roberts Foundation is to promote literacy which aligns perfectly with OO-USA's mission to develop character and literacy throughout the United States. Many thanks to the foundation.
Bales Foundation Expands
Thanks to the Hazel and Walter T. Bales Foundation of Jeffersonville, IN, every first grader in Greater Clark County and West Clark County will be participating in the Operation Outreach program this fall. The Bales Foundation has sponsored Operation Outreach literacy programs for over a decade expanding this year to include even more schools. Thank you for your kind and generous donation.
New Sponsor The Glass Foundation
Schools in Asheville, North Carolina will receive the OO-USA literacy program during the 2013-2014 school year through the generous donation of The Glass Foundation, a private family foundation based in Asheville. The Foundation believes in helping their community thrive educationally, environmentally, and culturally. Thank you Glass Family!
School Year 2012-2013
Target Visits West Elementary in Lancaster, Ohio
Target employee, Andrea Bone, visits West Elementary School in Lancaster, Ohio to assist principal Terri Garrett in the distribution of books received from Operation Outreach through an Early Childhood Reading grant from Target. First and second graders were extremely excited to receive two books of their very own. Mrs. Bone and Mrs. Garrett loved bringing smiles to so many faces.
New Sponsor! Build-a-Bear
Thank you beary much for your generous donation which will fund the Operation Outreach literacy program at 2 elementary schools in Providence, Rhode Island
BJ's Sponsors Fall River Schools
Thanks to BJ's Wholsale Club, four Fall River, Massachusetts schools have received funding for the Operation Outreach literacy program. Specifically, the fourth grade Fall River students will receive the beautifully illustrated book, Quequechan: Forgotten River. The "river" tells the story of its own existence in Fall River, Massachusetts through several centuries. BJ's is a first-time donor. Thank you BJ's for supporting children's literacy.
Bales Auto Mall Supports 12 Schools in Indiana
12 elementary schools in the Jeffersonville, Indiana area will receive the OO-USA program for the 9th year in a row! First graders at 12 area schools will be happily reading wonderful grade-level books with their teachers and parents. Literacy is a wonderful gift that has no price.
Cole Expands Program in San Luis Obispo
Cole Chrysler Dodge Mazda Sprinter of San Luis Obispo, California adds funding for 2 additional schools. Students at 5 schools in the San Luis Obispo area will receive the Operation Outreach character and literacy program through the generous donation from the Jeff and Carla Cole Foundation.
Giving Library Helps Philanthropists Choose Charities Like Operation Outreach-USA
A project of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Giving Library highlights various non-profit organizations to help philanthropists make informed decisions with respect to charitable giving. The site has an on-line library dedicated to providing information about hundreds of non-profit organizations in a video format. Click here to enjoy the Operation Outreach-USA video.
Target sponsors 100 schools nationwide
100 elementary schools throughout the USA will receive the OO-USA character and literacy program through Target's Early Childhood reading grants.
School Year 2011-2012
Holyoke School Adopts Manatee
Second graders in Kelly Doktor’s class at Sullivan Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts were so excited by what they learned in the OO-USA book "Kia’s Manatee" by Mary Szydlowski that they adopted a manatee named Lily through the Save the Manatee Club, www.savethemanatee.org! They also made these posters for Family Day at school. This is what the Operation Outreach program is all about!
Proctor & Gamble's VP of Canine Communications Visits Boston School
Griffin, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen breed and Vice President of Canine Communications, and Julie Franklin of P&G Pet Care External Relations Department located in Mason, Ohio visit school children in Boston. The visit was for Griffin to meet and read with Agnes Wong's Kindergarten class at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Boston, Massachusetts. Operation Outreach's President, Judy Golden was on hand to facilitate the day's activities. All of the children met Griffin, Julie and Judy in the school library to read the book Rudolph's Knows Nose by Marcia Fishman. P & G has supported Operation Outreach in schools across the country for 15 years! Welcome to Boston Griffin and Julie!
Happy 15th birthday, Operation Outreach-USA!!
What a success-filled decade and a half it’s been for us and the children we serve!
• 1.2 million children have each received two brand new books to enjoy in class and share with their families at home.
• For many of the children, these are the first books they have ever owned.
• 54,000 teachers in schools across the country have used OO-USA materials to help their students improve academic and social skills.
• 1,500 generous sponsors have made the OO-USA program possible. Some have contributed in every one of our 15 years. THANK YOU!!!
• OO-USA now publishes most of the titles used in the program, enriching and refreshing the program’s content and reducing costs. The OO-USA books are culturally diverse, focus on relevant topics, and feature animals and the environment as central themes.
• Stay tuned in school year 2012-13 for news of more programs, more sponsors, and another new book!
OO-USA Goes International - 3 Cambodian Orphanages Receive Books
Donors Jeff and Carla Cole of San Luis Obispo, California were traveling in Cambodia and were enchanted by the Cambodian children. When the Coles returned home, Jeff contacted Operation Outreach about sending our books to Cambodian Orphanages he visited. Thanks to the Coles generous donation, shipments of books arrived in Cambodia at 3 orphanages in the Siem Reap District.
P & G, 15 Year Donor
Proctor & Gamble continues its support of early reading education through Operation Outreach. 6000 school children in Cincinnati and 1000 school children in Chicago will receive the OO-USA program through P & G's generous donation.
Target and Author Visit Barlow School
DeWitt D. Barlow School in Plainfield, New Jersey had a special visit from Operation Outreach-USA author Alidas Vicente and Target associate, Kate Malloy. The visiting author Alidas Vicente read her book The Coquí and the Iguana at the school assembly. Barlow School received the OO-USA character and literacy education program through the sponsorship of their local South Plainfield Target store.
Target Sponsors 180 Schools, USA
Through Target's Early Education Grant program, individual Target stores throughout the United States are sponsoring the OO-USA program at 180 schools this year.
Second Year in a Row, Staples
Staples donation is funding the OO-USA literacy program in ten schools in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C. and Pensacola, Florida.
Irving Oil, New Donor
Irving Oil has generously donated the OO-USA literacy program to four schools in the Providence, Rhode Island school district helping over 800 students improve their reading proficiency.
Sponsor Cole Returns, San Luis Obispo
Cole Chrysler Dodge Mazda Sprinter of San Luis Obispo, California, which had previously sponsored schools in the area for several years contacted OO-USA to re-establish its connection and sponsorship this school year. 3 area schools will benefit from the OO-USA literacy program through Cole's generous donation.
Verizon, Second Year Donor
Verizon is sponsoring three schools in Fall River, Massachusetts. A return donor, Verizon, will support over 400 students in the Fall River School District.
12 year Donor, River Front
River Front Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram has grown their donation in the last three years to support three schools in the North Aurora, Illinois area.