"Catch the Reading Bug"

 Campaign

   Donate to Catch the Reading Bug's
BOOK DRIVE FOR THE BACKSTRETCH CHILDREN 2010

For the fourth consecutive year, Catch the Reading Bug is collecting NEW books for the backstretch children of Arlington Park Racetrack. These children are incredibly in-need financially, yet amazingly caring, compassionate and grateful. Our goal is to collect 250 new books-- enough for each child to receive his or her own story to read and enjoy. Thank you for your help!

Click here for an article on the backstretch kids!

A Note from Abby: 

                I was first introduced to the backstretch children of Arlington Park  Racetrack when volunteering as a "Junior Library Volunteer" at my local library in 2007. Once a week, over 200 of these adorable kids, who were all part of the Kids on Track day-camp program, would rush into the library, anxious to search for a new book or movie to check out. My job was to play games with the children before and after they browsed the shelves. Immediately, I fell in love with the backstretch kids! Through the Volunteer Center, I was able to donate enough Double T hygiene kits for each of the children on the backstretch.

             That next year, The Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago introduced me to an even more hands-on volunteer opportunity with the backstretch kids. I spent two days a week throughout the summer on the backstretch as a Kids on Track volunteer. I worked with the orange group ("las naranjas"), which consisted of about fifty second and third graders. The backstretch is a world entirely different than that of the luxurious Arlington Park Racetrack. Each family's one-room apartment is only 190 square feet! The kids spend half the year at Arlington Park and the other half in Cicero, IL. Because the school year doesn't correspond exactly with the racing season, the kids are bussed back and forth between the track and schools in Cicero for part of the year-- a three-hour commute, 60 miles round-trip. 

               For many of the backstretch kids, the five-day summer day-camp (made possible by District 214's Community Education program) offers tons of fun, like the field-trips to the library. There are other reasons the kids enjoy it so much, too. One of "mis naranjas", Ari, told me that she loved the camp because she got to eat three times a day, no matter what.

             Clearly, the backstretch kids are so deserving of anything we can give to them. They are sweet, caring and compassionate, and so grateful for even the most simple of things-- like a new book. Please consider helping the backstretch kids by donating to Catch the Reading Bug, and our campaign to give each of the Kids on Track kids a new book to enjoy. Thank you!