If there is any one of our sponsors who wants to get Colorado revved up to read, it’s Bandimere Speedway. As a strong supporter of readers of all ages, Tami Bandimere, President of Bandimere Speedway, served as a Board Member and Chair on the Jefferson County Library Foundation (JCLF) Board for many years, and through the Speedway she coordinates Race to Read®, a program to encourage elementary school-aged children to read with wonderful prizes and incentives, including tickets to the NAPA Auto Parts Night of Fire & Thunder.

Race to Read® found its roots in 1996 at Rooney Ranch Elementary in Lakewood, Colorado, and grew from there.

Throughout 23 years of encouraging elementary children to read through a challenging program with a racing theme, Race to Read® has:

• been in 221 different schools
• had 624,000 students participate in the program
• given nearly 130,000 tickets to the “Night of Fire & Thunder” as a reading reward
• had 1,528 participating school staff members represent their schools in the Race to Read Staff Challenge Race
• awarded nearly 6,500 Top Readers with a goodie bag and a gently used book donated by the Jefferson County Library Foundation.

 

When it comes to JCLF’s Whale of a Used Book Sale, Tami Bandimere shared, “As a longtime Board Member and the immediate past Board Chair for the Jeffco Library Foundation, I have had the privilege of volunteering at the Whale Sales and love watching our patrons sift through the tables of books as they fill their bags with affordable finds. Working the children’s section is one of the best experiences – it’s hard to walk through the aisles because the kids are sitting on the floor reading while their parents are loading up on fun reading materials! The Whale Sales are a fantastic way to recycle while at the same time providing affordable materials to our awesome community.”

For more information about Bandimere Speedway’s Race to Read®, click HERE.

For more information about our 2019 Spring Whale of a Used Book Sale, click HERE.