***GUEST SERIES BY SIXTH-GRADE DARLA***

Begin the “Start a Book Club” series here.

Although it doesn’t have to cost a lot, money can help your bookclub be more successful. Even a small corporate sponsorship can go a long way toward making your book club work. To give you an idea, here’s the request for funding that I wrote to my mom’s company.

Get creative! You can also ask for donations of activity materials, books or snacks from local stores. And my library has doubled since getting the word out to family members and neighbors. Just figure out what your book club really needs, and let people know. Adults often ask me how they can help, and it’s a lot easier to ask for quality items they might donate to GoodWill anyway.

We also receive a small, but regular funding from the affiliate income earned by purchases made from this Amazon search box. The money we use mostly goes toward the purchase of treats, activity materials and prizes. Here are some suggestions – but your situation will vary greatly, depending upon the resources in your community and neighborhood.

FUNDING SOURCE IDEAS:
• Two of my friends sponsored a dog wash and earned $9 to put toward materials and supplies.

• Encourage neighbor support by setting up a BookWorm Wednesday table at garage sales. All proceeds from one table can go to support the project.

• Ask for a grant from a sponsor, consider local businesses or sending fliers to neighbors.

• Include “wish list” items on the bottom of the fliers you give to participants.

• Mention “needed items” if you have the opportunity to be interviewed for a newspaper article. But be specific. You might get more than you bargained for!

• I make my money by receiving earnings from the Amazon links on this blog.

• I suggest buying prizes and crafts from Oriental trading, but don’t buy candy prizes there! It is cheaper at the grocery store.

I hope this series will get you started on a path toward hosting your own neighborhood book club! Please come back here and share your experience. I’d love to hear from you!!

Next week, we’ll ask readers to share what’s happening in their communities on Global Youth Service Day — the weekend of April 24-26. Please join us next week, by describing your project, or linking to your story. Thank you!

How to Start a Kid’s Book Club series:
Read Across America – Youth Leader for Literacy Project
How to Start Your Own BookWorm Wednesday
Adult Mentor
Book Selection
Activities
Safety
Marketing
Management
Teamwork
Money

Thank you for reading this series, a part of Read Across America, sponsored by NEA and Youth Service America. Darla is one of the select few youth named 2009 Youth Leaders for Literacy.