Read to Kids ~ Especially, Impoverished and Refugee Kids

 I’ve written about WorldReader before and taking that last link will show you a number of past posts about this critically important organization (plus you’ll see this post, since I tag all my posts and, the Top Tags widget {down a bit on the left} is the Best Way to find stuff on this blog...) [if you’re on a phone, find something like “show desktop site” in the menu…]

One of WorldReader’s main tenets is:

“A generation of children are waiting to become scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers. We help them reach their potential through reading.”

And, since 2010, they’ve reached nearly 5,500,000 children with their programs.

They’ve recently been working hard on a new Initiative, Read to Kids:

“Read to Kids is promoting reading to children amongst parents and caregivers in Delhi, India. It is a two year pilot in Delhi State in India that seeks to promote pre-literacy skills by encouraging parents to read to and with their young children (age 0-6) and by empowering them to do so by giving them access to a free digital library of high quality, locally relevant books and educational materials via their mobile phones.”

 However, under the banner, We’re Expanding ‘Read To Kids’ To Empower Syrian Refugees, they say:

“Children are the most vulnerable victims of the Syrian Refugee crisis. And while host countries like Jordan are taking generous measures to improve access to education for these children, many are at risk of being left behind.

“At Worldreader we believe every child should be able to benefit from the power of reading. That’s why we are proud to announce that we are building on the success of our Read to Kids program in India by expanding it to conflict-impacted families in Jordan.”

It’s easy to encourage folks, who are able, to Donate to WorldReader; but, I hope this post and the videos below will encourage you to share this information about how WorldReader is taking the Empowering Act of Reading to the most needy families and children on our planet…

And, in case you wonder if most folks would really read on Mobile devices:

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Literacy, NGOs, and Business . . .

Let’s start with the Business in the title of this post—Fast Company: 

“Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. Written for, by, and about the most progressive business leaders, Fast Company and FastCompany.com inspire readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business.”

Now, NGOs — Non-Governmental Organizations:

“Usually set up by ordinary citizens, NGOs may be funded by governments, foundations, businesses, or private persons. Some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers. NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes.”

And, Literacy; specifically, Worldreader:

“Worldreader is about e-books, reading and literacy…a US, Europe and Africa-based nonprofit organization transforming the lives of people in the developing world. Our mission is to unlock the potential of millions of people through the use of digital books in places where access to reading materials is very limited.”

Worldreader Is One Of Fast Company’s Most Innovative NGOs Of 2016

From their site:

“This year’s Top 10 Not-For-Profit companies include the likes of Black Lives Matter, UNICEF and Humans of New York, among others. Each of these organizations is playing their part in designing our future. We believe that our world should be a literate one. ‘We are grateful to play a part in creating a more literate world, and are deeply humbled to have our work acknowledged by Fast Company’ says our CEO and Co-Founder David Risher.”

And, here are 6 other posts about Worldreader…
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Finding a Social Network I Can Truly Engage With ~~~ #Wattpad

I’ve been engaged in a social media endeavor for 4 years, 10 months, and 18 days—right here on this blog… 

Naturally, since I’m a writer (and, naturally, a reader, too…), I tried the “social networks”:

Facebook—a raucous place for writers (or, readers)—folks standing up on platforms, shouting about their wares…

Google Plus—more mature than Facebook but still not geared, specifically, toward writers (or, readers)…

LinkedIn—hmmm… Sure, writing can be a “business”; but…

Twitter—broke up with it numerous times—worked out a functioning, minimal relationship…

I do, however, have WordPress automatically sending links of all my blog posts to all those networks…

Feel free to check out more of my social media opinions.

However, 5 years ago I signed up with Wattpad.

I was deep into writing my first novel and didn’t see Wattpad’s value (for writers or for readers)…

14 days ago, I wrote a post about my reunion with Wattpad and I linked to that post in another one I wrote 2 days ago—Very Short, Very Powerful Review of My Book on #Wattpad . . .

In that post, PAHughes said (about my novel):

“Picked this up and could not put it down. Astoundingly gripping , your words just dance on the page and every little bit comes to life. 

“I have downloaded a full copy of the book and will read it to the end. A brilliant book, well done sir.”

Then, yesterday, PAHughes told their over 1,100 followers the following:

“‘Notes from an Alien’ is Beautifully written with immense description and powerful undertones. It is the view of a world from strange but familiar eyes. Seriously go check it out.”

So, the reads of my novel have gone up and so have the reads of my poetry book and my collection of fantasy shorts. I’ve also had quite a few more folks follow me…

But, I’m finding out that Wattpad isn’t just about me getting readers of my works…

It’s also a wonderful place to read others’ writing—some great, some struggling, some amateurish—making comments on that writing (usually greatly appreciated, even if I’ve been a bit critical).

This was something I tried to do through other social media channels but never got used to…

Perhaps, as I prepare for my next book (I’m in no hurry…), I finally can take the time to appreciate others’ writing (even if it’s a bit poorly done…)—perhaps it’s the ambiance in Wattpad—perhaps it’s knowing that about 80% of my readers are mobile (my writing is traveling while being read…)—perhaps it’s that around 85% are under 30…

Perhaps it’s that I may be helping some stressed-out kid, on the streets ’cause home is a tragedy, slowly, incrementally improve their reading.

It’s possible to upload a full book or story but the Wattpad community has evolved in a serialization world (they even recommend keeping each portion of your work below 2,000 words...)—many Wattpaders are obviously writing a serial first draft and begging for comments so they can improve it.

I discovered Katherine A. Ganzel the other day and profited from reading her, How To Get Reads, Votes, and Comments – A Guide.

Katherine recommended another guide that I haven’t yet read—MichaelLimjoco‘s, Cracking the Wattpad Code: Insider Secrets the Pros don’t want you to know!

Wondering who those “pros” are or if Michael is just trying to draw in readers…

But, Katherine’s guide is comprehensive and extremely helpful and she really likes Michael’s guide…

Wattpad also has a Club (Forum) called Improve Your Writing and within that Club there’s a special place with a multitude of links to other aids and resources for aspiring writers plus what I’d call their Community Library…

Plus, they’re rolling out Multimedia Storytelling.

And, for any writers out there who still feel hesitant to, at least, explore Wattpad’s possibilities, here’s an interesting blurb from a writer with more entrepreneurial spirit then me:

“Drawing on her own success story, indie author Dianne Greenlay explains why she thinks all self-published writers should try using Wattpad to increase the discoverability of their books.”

She’s written this article—How Wattpad Gained My Self-Published Novel 500,000 Reads.

So, whether you’re a reader looking for mobile-joy or a high-powered Indie author, I feel fairly certain Wattpad has something for you…
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