MS Readathon Time

The Engineer brought home the forms for his first MS Readathon yesterday. It brought back so many memories for me. I used to love the MS Readathon. Spending ages in the school and local libraries scouring the shelves for books, filling in the list after each book one was read. The best bit though, was the warm, fuzzy feeling I got from handing over my sponsorship money so I could “help the people with MS”. I’m not sure that I really knew what MS was at that stage though.

I don’t know anyone with MS personally, but a couple of friends of friends live with the disease. I’ve learnt how debilitating it can be, not just physically as I had believed, but psychologically as well. MS Australia has a comprehensive website if you’re interested in learning more.

The Engineer is sharing my excitement about the MS Readathon. We’ve registered online and he is thinking about who he can ask to sponsor him. He has set a sponsorship goal of $200. We have collated a list of children’s books from our local library website that he might like to read and stuck it on the fridge next to The Thinker’s similar list.

One thing that seems to have changed about the MS Readathon over the years are the extra incentives for the participants to raise money. Depending on how much money they raise, they become eligible for a reward ranging from a pencil holder for $20-$49 to a Wii and iPod Touch for over $5000. Wow

I get so excited to see kids enthusiastic about reading and this is a great opportunity to develop your kids’ love of books, while teaching about giving at the same time.