Austin
 Chapter

About Room To Read Chapters

Room to Read depends on our chapter leaders and chapter members to help us achieve our annual fundraising goal and to represent Room to Read. Our chapters are comprised of groups of individuals who have made a long-term volunteer commitment to promoting Room to Read within their networks and communities. The chapters organize annual fundraising events, introduce us to potential corporate, foundation and individual supporters and act as representatives for Room to Read within their area.

About the 
Austin
 Chapter

Austin, Texas, is home to one of the largest, most prestigious universities in the nation and is ranked one of the top 25 most literate cities in the US. Austin's educational community is active and vocal about the importance of quality education. Austin has a robust, diverse nonprofit sector as well as an active and passionate community of givers and supporters. We are a group of young professionals dedicated to sharing our good fortune with the children of the world and championing the cause of literacy and gender equality in education.

Interested in joining? Please contact us directly at roomtoreadaustin@gmail.com.

Meet the 
Austin
 Chapter Leaders

Sherrie Nguyen - President
Client Success Director at Bazaarvoice, a technology and services company in Austin that facilitates customer word of mouth. Yogi, triathlete, foodie, and live music junkie. You'll most likely hear me say, "I'm tweeting this" (@sherrienguyen), or "Facebook me!" (http://www.facebook.com/sherrienguyen).
Peggy Keefe - Marketing Director
Client Development Director at Phenix & Phenix, Literary Publicists. Reading, baking, and eating enthusiast. Catch me on Twitter (@peglouke), or check me out on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pkeefe).
Diana Wang - Director of Operations & Volunteer Coordinator
Civil Engineer at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality headquarters in Austin. Enjoys cooking, yoga, and spending time outdoors. You can find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dianawang.
Pranaya Kondekar - Events Director
Validation Manager at Dell Inc., Austin, TX. Passionate about supporting meaningful causes through volunteering, running for charity, or simply promoting fund-raising events through Austin. Loves to run, have fun, live life to the fullest, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pranayak

Upcoming Events

We have started a new trend in 2010: monthly happy hours every last Thursday to meet our supporters and get to know our volunteers. If you have attended one of our past events or have no clue what we do but think we look like nice people, come hang out!

July Happy Hour - 7/29

This month we will be meeting at Dolce Vita on 7/29 at 6:30pm. At 7:30 we’ll have our final Room to Rock meeting to solidify plans and get even more psyched about the event! If anyone is interested in volunteering at Room to Rock please join us by 7:30.

Room to Rock - 8/1

On Sunday, August 1st, we'll be celebrating literacy and local music at Momo's. Four local Austin bands will perform from 6pm to midnight. Entrance is $10 per person and raffle tickets are $5 each. We have an acoustic guitar we will be auctioning off and CDs, tickets, gift cards, and more for the raffle. More info on the event at our Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/RoomtoRock 

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If you are interested in joining any of these event committees, please contact us at roomtoreadaustin@gmail.com.

Want to be informed about our events and updates? Join our newsletter by emailing us or by visiting the Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/room-to-read-austin-events. Check out our facebook page too: www.facebook.com/roomtoreadaustin

Event Photos

slideshow

Past Events

Celebrate Inspiring Women event
May 2010
Thanh Nhi, Vietnamese Restaurant
Our second annual Mother's Day-themed event was filled with fun people, great silent auction items, and tasty food. (Not to mention handmade cake pops!) We raised enough funds to send 20 girls to school for a year.

Beers for Books
April 2010
Dolce Vita
Although a smaller venue than Lavaca Street Bar we still managed to pack about 70 people in throughout the night. Thanks to our fabulous raffle prizes and a donation of all profits from Dolce Vita we raised enough money for 625 books!

Beers for Books
Halloween 2009
Lavaca Street Bar
We hosted our very first “Beers for Books” fundraiser at Lavaca Street Bar on Friday, October 30th. We had a costume contest with a guy and gal winner and also a raffle for a football signed by UT head football coach, Mack Brown. The bar donated one dollar from each beer sold to Room to Read to purchase a Local Language Publishing book. We raised enough money through beer sales, raffle tickets, and donations to buy over 1200 books!

Indian Nights
October 2009
Clay Pit, Indian Restaurant
Our biggest event to date was themed “Indian Nights” with a focus on raising money for programs in India. Clay Pit hosted and supplied fabulous appetizers and desserts. The restaurant also donated proceeds from the cash bar. A local Indian folk musician started off the night with some great music and two Indian dance groups performed as well. The event was a blast and we raised enough to build a library in India. 

Celebrate Inspiring Women
May 2009
Thanh Nhi, Vietnamese Restaurant
The restaurant was packed for our first country-themed event of the year. We put together an evening dedicated to celebrating the empowering women in all of our lives. Expanding on Mother's Day, we turned May into "Inspiring Women's Month." All funds raised went to girls' scholarships in Vietnam. A generous donor to Room to Read matched all donations given in May, so the funds we raised were doubled. We encouraged all attendees to give a donation in honor of the inspirational women in their lives and we provided beautiful donation cards they could personalize for them. In the end we were able to provide 26 girls with a scholarship for a year!

Hot Mama's Kickoff
May 2008
Hot Mama's Espresso
Our kickoff event had true Austin flare. With performances from Wyldefyre Productions Fire Dance and Drum Circle, Austin-based electro-acoustic band, The Lennings, facepainting, and storytelling, we were delighted to announce the start of the Austin chapter, promote awareness, and raise funds for Room to Read.

Get Involved with the Chapter!

Volunteer with your local chapter: We're thrilled to hear of your interest in getting involved with the chapter! Volunteering with a Room to Read chapter is not only a great way to help further Room to Read's mission, but also to meet new people! Volunteer opportunities include helping to plan events, giving small presentations about Room to Read's work, and introducing Room to Read to new supporters! If you would like to learn more, please update your profile by filling out the Volunteer Form.

Organize your own fundraiser or start an online campaign: Whether you’re running a race, encouraging wedding guests to donate in lieu of gifts, hosting a party at your home, or raising money just because you believe in our mission, the personalized fundraising tool will allow you share the Room to Read story with your friends and family through your own web pages and email messages. You can also track the success of your email campaigns and your progress towards your fundraising goal. Check out our Friends Asking Friends section!

 

Chapters

Our chapters raise 1/3 of our budget so more dollars fund our programs.  Help them, help us!

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