Toronto
 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 
Toronto
 Chapter

Since our inaugural event in 2006, the Toronto Chapter has raised over $450,000 through various fundraising initiatives. We simply could not have achieved this success without the support of our dedicated Chapter Members!

If you're interested in joining our mailing list, learning more about our current initiatives (and how you can help), or organising a fundraiser of your own with support from the Chapter, please send us an email at toronto@roomtoread.org!

Meet the 
Toronto
 Chapter Leaders

Jennifer Alexopoulos (Chapter Co-president)
Jennifer first joined the Toronto Chapter after an inspirational meeting with John Wood. A frequent traveller to developing countries, Jennifer believes that access to education should be an inalienable human right.

Kelly McCauley (Chapter Co-president)
Kelly’s love for travelling and global aid was sparked by a trip to Kenya in 2002 to build a classroom. Kelly has travelled extensively and witnessed the educational disparities facing children in the developing world. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, she is a Registered Real Estate Broker with five years of progressive industry experience specialising in property management.

Chinkal Patel (Sponsorship, Corporate Donations, and Strategic Planning)
One of Chinkal’s personal goals is to make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of educational infrastructure in areas where access to education is scarce. Working with Room to Read provides the perfect opportunity for Chinkal to help others while pursing this lifelong goal.

Upcoming Events

Hi everyone, 
May is here and the Room to Read Toronto team is looking for a few people to join us in our goal of educating the world's children! Here is the latest news from the team.


1. We're recruiting: interested in joining the team?

2. Global Room to Read yoga event 

3. May matching campaign

1. Interested in joining our team?  

The Room to Read Toronto team is looking for a few passionate people to join our team. if one of the descriptions below sounds like you, please drop us an email at toronto@roomtoread.org

1. Corporate Development Officer (Time: an estimated 12-15 hours per month)
Purpose: The Corporate Development Officer will be responsible for developing and leading a Corporate Development program focused on companies in the Greater Toronto Area. Our aim is to develop long-term relationships between local corporations and Room to Read/the Toronto chapter of Room to Read.
Key responsibilities:
* Identify and cultivate corporations as potential underwriters for Toronto events. (We are happy to start with very modest levels of sponsorship, with the aim of building long-term relationships.)
* Recruit Toronto-area volunteers to join your Corporate Development team
* Coordinate with the Chapter Contact and Corporate and Foundations team at Room to Read’s global headquarters and representatives of other chapters in Canada
* Work with local corporations on employee engagement programs and other Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives

How to get involved: a conference call will be held for those interested on Wednesday, May 9 at 7pm
. If you'd like to join, please drop Chinkal a note at toronto@roomtoread.org  for conference details.

2. Marketing Manager (Time: an estimated 5-10 hours per month, additional help may be requested for specific events)
Purpose: The Marketing position is a core position of the chapter planning team. This person will be responsible for creating and executing marketing strategy for the Toronto Chapter.  The strategy will ideally include short-term goals (support for 2012 events) and also developing long-term relationships as effective means to promote RtR
to all age groups and various segments (professionals, schools, corporations, various ethnic groups, etc).  There is an opportunity to make a significant contribution in this area.
Key responsibilities:
* Work with local and Global RtR
head office to develop marketing strategy for various segments
* Recruit Toronto-area volunteers to join your marketing team
* Connect with companies to solicit support for RtR’s
marketing projects (printing, advertisements, etc)

How to get involved: send an email to Kelly at
toronto@roomtoread.org  with your resume and what you can bring to the table.

3. Online Auction Committee (Time: an estimated 3-6 hours per month)
Purpose: The Toronto RtR
Chapter has access to an established online auction platform, and the Online Auction Committee will be responsible for raising funds using this resource.
Key responsibilities: Work with the Toronto Chapter Leaders to:
* Develop a strategy for the online auction by determining the target marketing, bid range, and fundraising goal.
* Determine the frequency and timeframe of online auctions (i.e. once a year for two weeks)
* Solicit sponsors
* Manage logistics (tax receipts, etc.)
* Solicit auction prizes

How to get involved: send an email to Chris at toronto@roomtoread.org . He'll connect with you about how to jump in.

2. Global Room to Read Yoga Event

Do you practice yoga?  Are you or do you know a yoga teacher who would like to hold a benefit yoga class as part of a global Room to Read yoga event in June?  Namaste India! will take place during the 24 hours of Saturday, June 16th, starting in Australia and ending in North America.

We ask that the teachers who sign up to participate donate proceeds from the 60-90 minute class to Room to Read Namaste India! project. Or, join us in a class outdoors that we will coordinate and that people can attend by donation. If you would like to host a benefit class please email us at toronto@roomtoread.org for more information. We'll send out details on where you can find a class in Toronto on June 16th in a few weeks. 

3. The May matching event is here! 

There's never been a better time to give! In honour of Mother’s Day, all donations through May 31st will be matched up to $150,000 by Hilton Worldwide. Pay tribute to the influential women in your life by donating online. Find out more about the May matching campaign.

Thanks and we hope to see you soon!
The Room to Read Toronto team

Event Photos

slideshow
     

Past Events

 

See event pictures in the photo gallery

May 19, 2011 - Beer for Books

Our inaugural Beer for Books event took place on Thursday May 19th and we raised $714!

 

October 31, 2010 - Halloween Walk-a-thon

We raised $930 for a project in Nepal! Thank you!!

 

Past events:
Since 2006, our passionate Chapter Members have organised and contributed to a variety of fundraisers: wine & cheese events, silent auctions, office fundraising challenges, read-a-thons and more!

Take a look at the picture gallery to get a sense of what we've organised in the past, which contains a selection of photos from two of our larger events, "A Novel Affair" and "An Evening with John Wood".

 

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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