Spruce Elementary students embraced the joy of reading and giving back during their fifth annual “Books for Bears” read-a-thon Nov. 25-26.
The event at the Lynnwood school raised $5,000 for PAWS Wildlife Center, helping provide lifesaving care to injured and orphaned baby bear cubs.
Brown Bear Car Wash donated $1 for every book read by the students, for a total of $2,000. Spruce students exceeded their goal and read 8,095 books during the read-a-thon. In addition to Brown Bear Car Wash’s donation, an anonymous local donor generously contributed an additional $3,000, bringing the total donation to $5,000.
“It’s a win-win for all involved,” said Jennie Warmouth, a teacher at Spruce Elementary who helped create and coordinate the event. “Our kids are motivated to read and get to feel the joy of helping another. The nonprofit receives funds that help support their lifesaving efforts.”
This year’s Books for Bears initiative garnered extra support from the National Geographic Society. New York Times bestselling author Kobi Yamada, known for his book What Do You Do With An Idea?, has generously awarded past top readers with signed copies of his books, and this year, Lynnwood Shake Shack provided gift cards as prizes.
To make the event even more special, Beary the Bear, the Brown Bear Car Wash mascot, visited Spruce Elementary last week to cheer on the students and thank them for their efforts.
— Story and photo by the Edmonds School District.
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