PR Success Stories   Reach Out and Read Illinios Sometimes the best publicity is unexpected. In June, Ryan Skarnulis, an eight year-old boy from New Lenox, a Chicago suburb, decided to donate the presents from his upcoming birthday to a charity. Ryan asked for 3,285 books - one for every day of his life - to share his love for reading with less privileged children. To meet his goal, Ryan enlisted the help of teachers, friends, and his family. After investigating local literacy organizations, Ryan and his parents contacted ROR Illinois to arrange the donation. When media outlets got word of the boy's plans, articles in Chicago-area papers included interviews with Ryan and his family, and ROR Illinois Director Christina Boothby. The story took off, yielding coverage in two major Chicago papers, the Chicago CBS affiliate TV station, several radio stations across the country, and numerous community papers. The story was such a success that People Magazine later interviewed the family and Christina. Although the article has yet to appear in the magazine, it is a testament to the efforts of everyone involved. Ryan's donation grew to more than 6,000 books, and donations are still coming in. Ryan's story touched other community members, and Christina has fielded calls from community banks, schools, churches, and professional organizations who want to arrange similar book drives for ROR. The feedback from Ryan's story has helped ROR Illinois acquire books and build recognition for the program across the state and the country. As a new feature in each edition of our e-newsletters, we will feature a fundraising success story from the field. If you have stories of successful events, press coverage, or positive encounters with donors, please let us know - email communications@reachoutandread.org. Return