Frequently Asked Questions
Get Involved
The best way to get involved with Room to Read is to become an advocate for literacy and girls' education. Several opportunities to take action are available on our website.
Are you a passionate individual looking for a career opportunity?
Yes! Our volunteers are part of our global chapter network and contribute to Room to Read's success by organizing fundraising events, spreading the word, and connecting Room to Read to individuals, corporations, foundations, and schools who might be interested in partnering to provide education to children in low-income countries.
We do not offer overseas volunteer opportunities for foreigners to volunteer within our offices. Our business model rests firmly on empowering the local people in the countries in which we work to implement our projects.
We do encourage the local communities to get involved and co-own the projects we help establish. We have found this model significantly impacts the long term sustainability of these projects.
You can volunteer with Room to Read through our passionate volunteer network of chapters that fundraise, raise awareness and advocate for Room to Read around the world.
Throughout the world, volunteers for Room to Read help raise funds and spread the word about the incredible work we are doing. Our volunteers work both on their own by starting a campaign or spreading the word about our work and in partnership with other volunteers through our volunteer-led chapters.
The opportunities to create world change are endless! How will you give education?
Chapters are groups of passionate and committed individuals who collectively represent Room to Read's global volunteer network and lead local outreach, fundraising and activism in their communities.
Many of our supporters choose to host fundraisers, such as cocktail parties, read-a-thons, and dinner parties to benefit our programs. These fundraisers are an integral part of our success. In addition to helping to fund our programs, they also offer an excellent opportunity to share the story of Room to Read with new potential supporters.
You're in luck - we have all the resources you'll need for a successful event on our website! Please be sure to check out our:
- Resource Hub: our space to share our latest resources. From printables to Facebook cover photos, we have you covered.
- Media Page: Here you'll find high-resolution photos and videos of our work and inspiring student stories.
- Students Helping Students: Learn more about our global network of youth changemakers and get inspired by their stories.
- Start a Fundraising Campaign: Once you decide on a goal, you can use your campaign to raise funds and track your progress on your personal page.
Yes! You can start your personal fundraising campaign today. Once you’ve created your page, don’t forget to spread the word with your friends, family, and greater network. The more people you share your page with, the closer you move toward your goal!
Room to Read partners with companies in a variety of ways, including grant partnerships, cause marketing partnerships, employee engagement and fundraising, and gifts-in-kind.
Students Helping Students (SHS), is the youth-action arm of Room to Read. As students, we have the power to change the world by standing up for literacy and gender equality in education. By uniting our creativity, leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit, we've built a global network of students who organize in support of Room to Read.
Every year, thousands of students and schools around the world join us in championing our cause. From grade school to graduate school, our Students Helping Students network has established campus groups and school clubs, hosted read-a-thons, created outreach videos or performed any number of activities to support our work.
We strongly encourage you to view our fundraiser resources and student resources for engagement opportunities. You’ll find fundraising tools and tips to help get you started. Feel free to tweak the material so it’s family-friendly and appropriate for all ages.
Room to Read’s mission is to partner with local authors and illustrators through our Literacy Program. Our work is most effective and sustainable when we work with local individuals in the community. This also promotes the stability and longevity of our work.
Our only current exception is for story submissions for manuscripts in Hindi. If your support fits this exception, please email info@roomtoread.org with the subject line “[First + Last Name] Providing QRM Support for Hindi Manuscripts”
Due to geographic restrictions and the number of requests we receive per year, we are unable to honor all requests for speakers. We encourage you to reach out to a chapter near you and see if there is an available representative for your event.
You can also find many resources for raising awareness and funds for our work in our Resource Hub!
Visits to Room to Read partner schools are open to anyone. We cannot accommodate separately-organized private visits to our partner communities.
Room to Read periodically offers internships ranging in length from one to three months. Available internship opportunities are posted on our Careers page.
Invest in children's education today.