On Thursday, April 30th, Jumpstart’s
Scribbles to Novels event convened acclaimed
authors Walter Mosley
(The Long Fall),
Ayelet Waldman (Bad
Mother), John
Hodgman (More
Information Than You Require), and
Andrew Sean Greer (The
Story of a Marriage) to celebrate and
support the literary journey that takes a child
from scribbles to novels.
The event raised over $415,000 and brought
almost 300 concerned New Yorkers together to
show their support for the organization. Among
the crowd was Jumpstart admirer and television
favorite, Stephanie March ("Law & Order: SVU").
"All children deserve a Jumpstart,” said March.
The discrepancy in vocabulary between low and
higher income children entering school is
shocking. Unacceptable, actually. I am thankful
there is an organization like Jumpstart to
address this. "
Scribbles to Novels was chaired by Chris and
Loretta Stadler. Chris is managing partner at
CVC Capital Partners and a member of Jumpstart’s
National Board of Directors. Working side by
side with the Stadlers was
Lorie Almon, chair of the
Jumpstart Mid-Atlantic Regional Board and
managing director of Seyfarth Shaw’s
New York office. The
event opened with a group of preschoolers from
the lower east side singing their favorite
numbers from the Jumpstart songbook. Ayelet
Waldman was the evening’s humorous and inspiring
emcee.
Said Myung Lee,
Jumpstart’s Executive Director, “Jumpstart pairs
caring adults with low-income children who work
together for an entire school year on the
language, literacy and social skills they need
to achieve not only in kindergarten, but in
life.” She added, “Our authors’ personal stories
reinforced the importance of Jumpstart’s work
everyday to help at- risk preschool children
establish a life-long love of learning and
writing.”
Among its many supporters, Scribbles to Novels
was sponsored by major underwriting from Chris
and Loretta Stadler,
Pilot
Travel Centers, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Rolly van
Rappard, Pearson, and Peeq Media.
About Jumpstart
Jumpstart is a national early education
organization that works toward the day every
child in America
enters school prepared to succeed. By pairing
nearly 4,000 trained adult mentors with
underserved preschoolers for a full school year,
Jumpstart helps children develop the language,
literacy, and social skills they’ll need to
thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Working
alongside parents and families, Jumpstart is
currently serving nearly 15,000 children across
20 states, in partnership with more than 300
early learning centers and 74 universities and
colleges throughout the country. Jumpstart’s
national sponsors include American Eagle
Outfitters, AmeriCorps, Pearson, Sodexo and
Starbucks. Jumpstart is the five-time recipient
of the Fast
Company/Monitor Social Capitalist
Award (2004-2008) and has received a 4-star
rating from Charity Navigator.
For more information, please visit the
Jumpstart Web site at
www.jstart.org.