Nowurthinking

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Now You’re Thinking! campaign to donate books to military families via Pearson Foundation and We Give Books: http://wegivebooks.org.

We are proud to announce that thanks to your help, we have donated nearly 12,000 books to three phenomenal charities that benefit military families: The Mission Continues, Pat Tillman Foundation, and United Through Reading.

For each of the children’s books you read online, we donated one hardcover or paperback book to one of these charities.  Whether you read one book or 1,000 books for the campaign, we are eternally grateful.  You made a difference!

Thanks to your support, United Through Reading will be able to provide more options for soldiers who want to videotape themselves reading a book to send to their children back home.  The Pat Tillman Foundation will donate the books to community centers and libraries near military bases, and The Mission Continues will use the books to rehabilitate a community center or library through one of their amazing service projects.

As we’ve noted before, reading to your children consistently at a young age creates a foundation for future critical thinking skills.  Each book you read online for the Now You’re Thinking! campaign will help support children’s literacy and critical thinking ability.  Thank you so much for your support!

The story of Pat Tillman is one familiar to most Americans.  A man who was selfless, brave, and honorable.  A man who gave up a lucrative career and future with the NFL to serve his country and paid the ultimate price.  If you’ve read any of the stories about Pat Tillman from his friends and family, you know that he was anything but ordinary.  He was the kind of man who did things because he wanted to, and not because he wanted to receive recognition, praise, or awards.

He put the interests of others ahead of his own, and even in death his legacy continues through the Pat Tillman Foundation.  In 2004, the family and friends of Pat Tillman created the foundation as a way to honor his life and continue his service.  They are focused on providing educational support and resources to veterans, soldiers, and families of service members.  Since 2004, the Foundation has given away $2.2 Million in scholarships alone to the Tillman Military Scholars.

There are a few ways to support the Pat Tillman Foundation.  One is to donate to the organization online here:  http://www.pattillmanfoundation.org/donate/.  You can also text Tillman to 5-0-5-5-5 to donate $10.

In addition, you can support the Pat Tillman Foundation’s educational support programs by participating in the Now You’re Thinking! campaign to donate 10,000 books to military families.

All you need to do is read as many free online children’s books as you can at http://wegivebooks.org/nyt.  Make sure you select the Now You’re Thinking! campaign!  Here’s a quick video that shows how easy it is to donate a book:  http://youtu.be/wYReetQVKKo

There are only 5 days left to participate in this campaign, so please join the campaign today and read a book on behalf of the Pat Tillman Foundation!

If you watch the news enough, you may be convinced that today’s soldiers enlist in the military only for the educational/financial benefits and often return from duty unable to return to “normal” life due to post traumatic stress disorder or physical injuries.  If you hold that viewpoint, you haven’t seen the amazing work done through The Mission Continues.

The Mission Continues was established based on the belief that one single characteristic is universal among soldiers- a desire to serve.  When soldiers return from deployment they still have that same core desire to serve their country in some way that makes a difference.  These young men and women are leaders.  They sacrificed for their country while on active duty and plan to continue making America stronger once they return home.  The Mission Continues provides a place for those soldiers to organize and serve their community through service projects.

In addition, The Mission Continues provides the opportunity for civilians to volunteer alongside soldiers so they can interact and get to know today’s soldier as well as thank them for their service.  Since its founding in 2007, The Mission Continues has completed 302 service projects across the country.  These projects often honor a fallen soldier and provide the opportunity for civilians and soldiers alike to preserve the memory of those who have given their lives for our freedom.

If you would like to volunteer to support one of the service projects through The Mission Continues, click here.

Also, you can support their organization through the Now You’re Thinking! campaign to donate 10,000 books so they can restock libraries, schools, and community centers in need.

All you need to do is read as many free online children’s books as you can at http://wegivebooks.org/nyt.  For every book you read, we will donate a book on your behalf.  Make sure you select the Now You’re Thinking! campaign!  Here’s a quick video that shows how easy it is to donate a book:  http://youtu.be/wYReetQVKKo

With only 5 days left to participate in the Now You’re Thinking! campaign to donate children’s books to military charities, we wanted to highlight one of the great organizations that will benefit from your support- United Through Reading.

Last week, the authors of Now You’re Thinking! had the honor of meeting many U.S. soldiers at BWI airport’s USO office and handed out free autographed copies of their book.  Heather Ishikawa, John Maketa, and Judy Chartrand honored the soldiers who had just returned home and thanked those soldiers who were preparing for their next deployment.  They were also able to see many soldiers take advantage of the United Through Reading program in person.

With United Through Reading, soldiers who are deployed have the opportunity to read a children’s book to a video camera and have that video tape sent to their children at home.  The program provides the opportunity for families to stay connected through the power of reading, while children are comforted by seeing images of their parent read aloud.  Since it was founded in 1989, United Through Reading has connected over 1 Million parents and children through reading.

While meeting with the United Through Reading team, we met one soldier who was getting ready to record a book for his daughter.  He said “When I kissed her goodbye she asked if I could read her one more bedtime story tonight. I guess now I’ll be able to do that.”

Pearson and the authors of Now You’re Thinking! couldn’t be more proud to support such an amazing organization.  Our campaign hopes to donate 10,000 more books to the United Through Reading library so that more children will be able to watch their parent read aloud to them despite being deployed.

Want to help?

All you need to do is read as many free online children’s books as you can at http://wegivebooks.org/nyt.  Make sure you select the Now You’re Thinking! campaign!  Here’s a quick video that shows how easy it is to donate a book:  http://youtu.be/wYReetQVKKo

By now you’ve heard about the newest critical thinking book on bookshelves- Now You’re Thinking!

Now you have a chance to win a free copy of the book for yourself!  We will give away 20 free copies of the book Now You’re Thinking! to some of the gracious supporters of our We Give Books campaign!

Here’s how to enter:

1)  Go to http://wegivebooks.org/nyt and create a login.

2)  Join the “Now You’re Thinking! Campaign” and read free children’s books online (for each book you read, we will donate one book to a great military charity).  Here’s a quick video that shows how easy it is to participate:  http://youtu.be/wYReetQVKKo

3)  Read 20 or more books under the Now You’re Thinking! Campaign.

4)  Use your mouse cursor to hover over your username in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  That will show how many books you’ve read for the Now You’re Thinking campaign.  Take a picture of that information and post it on the Now You’re Thinking! Facebook page (or email it directly to breanne@nowurthinking.com).

Example:

5)  On Saturday, October 1st, we will hold a drawing and send a free copy of Now You’re Thinking! to 20 lucky individuals who entered the drawing by showing us they read 20 or more books for the Now You’re Thinking! campaign!

It’s that simple!  Doing the good deed of participating in this charitable campaign may pay off with a free copy of Now You’re Thinking!

So, how many books have you read for the campaign so far?

You may be wondering who RayJ is.

No, we’re not referring to the actor/singer/reality TV star, we’re referring to the “RayJ” who has read a whopping 200 books online at http://wegivebooks.org/nyt.  Thank you, RayJ!  You have single-handedly given 200 hardcover or paperback books to great military charities that will in turn use those books to support U.S. soldiers’ families.

How many books have you helped donate to The Mission Continues, United Through Reading, and Pat Tillman Foundation through the Now You’re Thinking! We Give Books campaign?

You can see the Top Readers here:  http://www.wegivebooks.org/campaigns/nyt.

Remember, you can read as many online children’s books as you want at the Now You’re Thinking campaign, and for each one you read, we will donate a book on your behalf to one of the 3 military charities listed above.  Read one today…read 20 today….or be like RayJ and read 200 today!

Our goal is to give away 30,000 books to military families, and we need your help to meet that goal!

Will you commit to reading a book for Now You’re Thinking today?