Reading Makes A Difference™

Washington Elementary

Hawthorne, CA

Sponsored by: Hope Share Care Foundation (2026)

2026

‘Helping the Community Through Reading’

The Wildcats of Washington Elementary School in Hawthorne, CA, bolted into reading in our three-week Jester Read-A-Thon to make a difference in their community. Their goal was to donate Jester books and dolls to two local centers operated by the Venice Family Clinic – the Maxine Waters Health & Dignity Center at York Elementary and the HSD Health and Wellness Center at Zela Davis Elementary.

They did remarkably well for their first Jester Read-A-Thon – racking up a total of 76,207 pages read. The top reader – second grader Ezekiel Jacobo – read 4,720 pages.

“Getting children involved in helping the community through reading,” was the most effect aspect of the program reported first-grade teacher Faydra Engel.

Additionally, said fifth-grade teacher Suzanne Bauman, “Students were able to reflect on their own health and well-being,” through the reading program, its beneficiaries and the work and life story of author-artist David Saltzman, which inspires the program.

Teachers were excited about the program’s return now that students enjoyed participating in it so much.