Briana Scores a Hit

Briana did an awesome job pitching at the Cubs game today! A great time was had by all.

I'll post more photos as they come in but here's Briana on the field at Wrigley with Bearemy. Many thanks to Build-A-Bear for a dream come true day!

Build-A-Bear Cubs Winners!

Congratulations to young Sachin Jain and his canine pal, Arthur, for showing their Cubs spirit and winning the drawing for Build-A-Bear tickets to Saturday's Chicago Cubs game for mom, Cathy!

Lowell second-grader, Briana Lopez (shown here with her proud teacher, Nora Garcia) was thrilled to receive a Cubs uniformed Build-A-Bear when Sit Stay Read visited her classroom today to announce that she'll be throwing out the first pitch at Saturday's Cubs game.

See more contest entries and pictures of Briana. And look for photos from the game soon!

Calling All Cubs Fans!

Everyone in the office was thrilled when our friends (and supporters) at Build-A-Bear Workshop offered Sit Stay Read the honor of having one of our students throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game!

We immediately thought of Ms. Garcia at Lowell School. She's a huge baseball fan so we were sure she'd know a student who loves the Cubs and deserves some special recognition. Sure enough, Ms. Garcia recommended 7-year-old Briana Lopez. What a lucky girl! In addition to loving the Cubs, Briana loves reading and is an excellent student.

Want to see brave Briana throw out the first pitch? Sit Stay Read has TWO extra tickets to the game and we want YOU to be there! Enter our contest to win BOTH tickets so you can be there to cheer on Briana.

The contest:
We want to see who the biggest Cubs fan is! Send us a photo of you, your kids or your dog (like George, pictured here) showing your Cubs spirit! Have some fun, show your Cubs support and you just might win TWO free tickets to the game on Saturday, May 30th at 3:10pm. The winner will also receive our new "Keep Reading" t-shirt to wear at the game to show support for Sit Stay Read and Briana!

To enter, email a jpg file of your most spirited picture to us at info@sitstayread.org by 5pm on Tuesday, May 26th. The lucky winner will be announced Wednesday, May 27th. Good luck and have fun!

Busy Days

Wrapping-up the school programs and getting ready for the final visits for the year means a busy time in the Sit Stay Read office.

In addition to assembling all the Reading Fun Packs and sorting books, our intrepid staff and volunteers put together the mailing to all our supporters--personalizing, stuffing, labeling, stamping and sealing 1,800 letters!

Many thanks to (from bottom left) Sally, Wei, Kelsey, Elizabeth, Mary, Gail, and Jenn. As well as those not pictured: Barbara Braden, Bea Calcagno, Anita Dasgupta, Jan & Fred Glure, Lauren Krebs, Sarah Scott, Zaneta Zak, and everyone who wrote Post-It notes to let folks know of their commitment to Sit Stay Read. As we say so often, we truly couldn't do it without you!

Our New Bookkeeper

That's Jack, our new intern Kelsey's chihuahua-Pomeranian mix. Isn't he a charmer?

This was his first day in the office and he and Shandy were a lot of help sorting the books and getting the Fun Packs ready.

See more of Jack (and Shandy.)

Shandy's Doppelganger

They say we all have one and I think we've found Shandy's.

That's Barbara Braden's lovely Maggie and, of course, that's Shandy next to her (or below, depending on your display.) Two old gals with soulful eyes. Such a pair!

For Brandon

And your nephew, niece, loved one. I know it's a commercial but the sentiment is wonderful. Stay safe.