Students Read Their Way to a New Book Vending Machine

 

Every year, the Woodsdale Elementary School Student Council chooses a new service project. This year’s project included a student council fundraiser for a book vending machine. Their fundraiser was a school read-a-thon.

The student council had a goal of raising $7,000. After reaching out to local businesses for donations, the students launched a Read-a-Thon fundraiser!

Read-a-Thon’s web-based program made their book vending machine fundraiser easy. Anyone, anywhere, could donate and support student readers. By the time the campaign was finished, the school raised well over its $7,000 goal.

What is Read-A-Thon?

Read-A-Thon is an organized fundraising event where students commit to reading for a specific duration of time to raise money for a cause. Participants may seek sponsors who pledge donations based on the amount of time spent reading or the number of books/pages read. In short, hosting a Read-A-Thon is easy, rewarding, and inspiring.

What is Book Vending?

Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine is an innovative program offering students the opportunity to earn tokens for good behavior and academic achievement. Then students use the token to vend a brand-new book, building a home library.

Students are actually excited to read with this program! It’s a fun and creative incentive that aligns with school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program.

Easy for Teachers and Staff

Read-A-Thons require less than one hour per week to manage to achieve success. This is significantly less time and effort compared to more traditional fundraisers! With a user-friendly online platform and dedicated support, participants can quickly and effortlessly start raising funds.

Rewarding for Students

Students are allowed to read whatever they want, wherever they are, at any time. Moreover, in the Read-A-Thon rewards store, students are in charge! According to Read-A-Thon’s website, when students read books they choose themselves, they average 180 minutes of reading time! By focusing on time read, rather than pages read, students are more motivated to reach their goal by reading their desired material. 

As an added bonus, students earn exciting rewards. Through their donations they earn a variety of fantastic toys, games, and books.

 

Inspiring for the Community

Read-A-Thon makes it easy to reach beyond the school community to the community at large so even more people can share in the excitement of helping students become better readers. The user-friendly platform takes care of all the difficult tasks, such as providing real-time reports on funds raised and minutes read, processing payments, offering hands-on support, and providing a customized success kit.

Student Council Makes An Impact

 The most amazing part of this project was that it came from the students. The student council planned, implemented, and executed the fundraiser from start to finish. A few students shared their thoughts about Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine and the fundraiser with WTRF News.

Here’s what they had to say:

 

“We wanted to make reading a little bit more fun for little kids and us.” 

REESE MCGOWAN | 4TH GRADE, WOODSDALE ELEMENTARY

 

“I think it will help our learning and it will be a fun way to like read books and I think kids will like it.” 

 

NICHOLAS WHITE | 3RD GRADE, WOODSDALE ELEMENTARY

 

“Usually, kids go off of bigger kids. So, when they see the big kids, all reading these books and getting them off of the vending machine, they will most likely come and go get some books.” 

ADALYN HIENBAUGH | 5TH GRADE, WOODSDALE ELEMENTARY

What is a book vending machine?

Inchy's Bookworm Vending Machine is an innovative educational tool designed to encourage reading habits among students. It also aligns with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs already established in schools. This vending machine operates by allowing students to exchange tokens earned through positive behavior or academic achievements for books. 

By incorporating PBIS principles, where positive behaviors are reinforced through rewards, Inchy's Bookworm Vending Machine provides a tangible incentive for students to engage in desired behaviors such as completing homework, showing respect to peers and teachers, or demonstrating responsibility. This integration not only promotes literacy but also reinforces a positive school culture where academic success and good behavior are celebrated and rewarded. 

In essence, Inchy's Bookworm Vending Machine serves as a creative tool within the framework of PBIS programs to foster a love for reading and support overall student well-being.

How does it work?

The book vending machine will be used “for positive reinforcement” at the Woodsdale Elementary. Students can earn tokens through good behavior. Those tokens can be used in the machine.

Pick Behaviors & Habits to Reinforce

Good Grades, Attendance, Acts of Kindness, Birthdays / Accomplishments, Reading Efforts

Reinforce with Reward

Reinforce the desired behavior and or habit by rewarding the student with a special Inchy golden token!

Time to Vend a Book

Student can visit your Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine™ to pick out their favorite book. Insert inchy token and make a selection.

Retrieve Book

Retrieve the book from the delivery bin. Watch the student’s excitement as they hold their new book for the first time!

Continue to reward and promote your designated behaviors & habits.

How Will The School Use The Extra Money?

Every student was given a pledge sheet and then proceeded to seek pledges for the read-a-thon. Donors had the choice of making a fixed contribution or offering a certain amount of money for each book the student read.

This week, there will be an awards assembly where both class and individual winners will be announced and rewarded. According to Young, a representative from the top homeroom will have the opportunity to throw a pie in Principal Ashlea Minch's face. Following this, there will be a pizza party courtesy of DeFelice Pizza.

According to teacher Jaime Young, the school exceeded its goal of $7,000. Young and teacher Brandy LaFlam are both co-advisors to the student council.

"When I say they exceeded the amount, they really did," she said. "We don't have the final total yet, but at the last count, we had over $7,500."

The additional funds we receive will be used to purchase books for both immediate and future use.

Interested in Learning More?

Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine has proven to be a transformative tool for many schools. Read-A-Thon fundraisers make that goal attainable. Together, these programs make a difference in student's lives.

If you're seeking similar results in your school, don't hesitate to get in touch with the BookVending.com sales team today. Let us help you enhance literacy initiatives with our tailored solutions.