On Monday, June 8th, we celebrated our 40th Annual Evening of Readings & Gala Dinner — an evening that raised vital funds towards our programs and, more importantly, reaffirmed why this work matters.
Thanks to our community’s generosity, a record-breaking $1.3M was raised to support our mission of advancing literacy two generations at a time. This support ensures Literacy Partners has the needed resources to continue offering award-winning educational media, impactful community workshops for parents, and transformative intensive classes for adult learners, all while putting books into the hands of thousands of families.
Hosted by Lesley Stahl, the evening honored four extraordinary individuals: bestselling author Patricia Cornwell received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Sabastian Niles received the Distinguished Leadership in Literacy Award, publishing maven Barbara Tober received the Lizzie Award, and Sesame Workshop’s Sherrie Westin received the Champion of Literacy Award. Their accomplishments in literature, law, journalism, publishing, and children’s education are truly remarkable. Also, a big thank you to all the presenters!
But the night’s most powerful voice belonged to Monica Bunay — a Literacy Partners alumna, current Parent Facilitator, and mother — who took the stage to share her own journey from student to leader in our community. She is a shining example of our mission to create better opportunities for families through the power of literacy.
Watch the speeches below!
Every ticket, every bid, every toast raised that night goes directly back into classrooms and family literacy programs across the country. To everyone who joined us on the night or from afar — thank you!
