Everybody Wins! DC Celebrates 15 Years

Post and photos by Felice Cherry www.cherrypickedstyle.blogspot.com

On March 9, 2010, Everybody Wins! DC held their 15th Annual Gala Celebration at the Capital Hilton. Chris Matthews, host of Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC and The Chris Matthews Show on NBC was to serve as the distinguished Gala emcee, but as things turned out, he was in Israel with VP Biden, so the lovely Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC & NBC stood in.

Everybody Wins! DC is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting children’s literacy and enrich young lives by pairing local students with reading mentors who meet with students for storytelling, reading activities, mentoring, and just plain old conversation. Over 100 organizations, including government agencies, Congressional offices and committees,media publications, universities, law firms, and other companies participate in the Everybody Wins! DC Power Lunch program.  Mentors typically commited to the same students throughout their elementary school years to provide consistency in the children’s lives.  In 2010, Everybody Wins! DC will operate in 32 Title I public elementary schools, impacting more than 3,900 at-risk children in underserved communities throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area.

The Everybody Wins! DC Gala Celebration is the main fundraising event for the organization. The Gala Celebration on March 9 opened with a cocktail reception and silent auction. There were tons of really interesting items to bid on across a wide range of categories and bidding prices. Even I caught the fever and bid on the autographed Michael Jackson Thriller album , pictured below.

Dinner was served following the cocktail reception and silent auction and Everybody Wins! DC presented a program which highlighted the program’s achievements and honored its mentors, sponsors, and participants.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan served as keynote speaker. Students participating in the Everybody Wins! DC program made a special performance during the Gala program, truly demonstrating the success and impact of Everybody Wins! DC on students in our local community.

We all know how important reading is–it’s the gateway to all other types of learning.  But, living and working in one of the most educated regions of the country, it can be easy to forget that literacy is still a crucial issue in this country.  To learn more about becoming a reading mentor or sponsor, visit www.everybodywinsdc.org.