Questions about Rotary Literacy Advocates
What is a Rotary Literacy Advocate?
Rotary Literacy Advocates are worldwide Rotary Clubs that have become promoters and activists of the Rotary Literacy Initiative movement. They are the key partner organizations that deliver free Life Skills Books and free access to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website to mainly underserved communities and economically disadvantaged families throughout the world.
With a commitment to serve the needs of partner Rotary Literacy Advocates, Smart Kidz Media will be a steadfast and reliable provider of vital literacy resources that Rotary Literacy Advocates depend on to service the needs of families in their communities.
How do I become a Rotary Literacy Advocate?
Any qualified Rotary Club is welcome to sign up as a Rotary Literacy Advocate. Simply register and open a member account on the Rotary Literacy Initiative nexus website.
What are the benefits of becoming a Rotary Literacy Advocate?
A Rotary Literacy Advocate receives these benefits:
• Each Rotary Literacy Advocate is given a Rotary Literacy Advocate Membership Account Page. This membership account page is integrated into the Rotary Club’s existing website. Member clubs will also have the ability to customize their existing website to promote and service the literacy needs of their community.
• The Membership Account Page has links to the Rotary Literacy Initiative nexus website, the Reading Adventure Island streaming website, and the Life Skills Library Bookstore—all designed so that the Rotary Literacy Advocate can delivers the vast Smart Kidz Literacy Library content to the families in the communities they serve.
• A Rotary Literacy Advocate is given a unique name and number. Families that register their children on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website will need this name and number to log-in to access the streaming website. This enables the sponsoring Rotary Literacy Advocate to track the activity and literacy progress of the children enrolled in the program. Advocates can also recommend specific literacy content to families on the streaming website.
• Access to the Life Skills Library Bookstore website. This bookstore website is proprietary and available only to Rotary Literacy Advocates–it is not open to the public. On this website, Rotary Literacy Advocates can order age-graded, Life Skills Books directly from the Smart Kidz Media maintained Life Skills Library Bookstore website. Here, orders are compiled (to get better pricing) and purchased on behalf of members from an approved Print on Demand (POD) vendor at a special cost +plus discount.
• The heart of a Rotary Literacy Advocate’s commitment to promote literacy is to offer families in the community free access to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website and free Life Skills books. To facilitate this commitment, each Life Skills Book has a Reading Adventure Island Membership Card attached that can be given to children and family members that Rotary Literacy Advocates sponsors.
• The Adopt a Classroom fundraising program: Advocates can widen their volunteer base, increase fundraising exposure, and increase donations by implementing the Adopt a Classroom fundraising program (see FAQ below).
• The Reading Adventure Island streaming website features a “hassle free,” entertaining, digital media streaming, 24/7 website that features the Learning to Read Made Easy program, age-graded reading programs and multimedia programs that inspire children to read more and learn more about the world in which they live.
• Advocates gain more credibility and support from their volunteers, donors and sponsors by offering resources that encourage parents to be more involved in their children’s education and to help them build a supportive Smart Kidz Life Skills Library in the home.
• Receive newsletters, email updates, and announcements of new literacy products and programs.
What does it cost to become a Rotary Literacy Advocate?
There is a $50 charge for a Rotary Literacy Advocate Starter Kit
There is a one-time set-up charge for building a Rotary Literacy Advocate Membership Account Page that is integrated into the Rotary Club’s existing website. This set-up fee also includes links to the Rotary Literacy Initiative nexus website, the Reading Adventure Island streaming website, and the Life Skills Library Bookstore. This fee will be determined on a case-by-case basis after a work-to-be done evaluation is taken.
The cost for a continuing Rotary Literacy Advocate membership is $500/year.
Why does Smart Kidz Media charge Rotary Literacy Advocates a yearly membership fee?
There are basic overhead expenses that Smart Kidz Media incur that are needed to service and maintain the Life Skills Library Bookstore and the Reading Adventure Island streaming website. These expenses are also partially covered by grants, gifts, and corporate sponsors.
How does the Rotary Literacy Advocate Adopt a Classroom fundraising program work?
As part of the Rotary Literacy Advocate’s efforts to increase community and member support, an Advocate can recruit other non-members to financially support a child’s literacy education through the Adopt a Classroom program. A donor can sponsor a student in a classroom by donating $5/month or $60/year (or any amount the non-member or member chooses). This monthly donation enables the Advocate member to “gift” a new Life Skills Book (with the attached Reading Adventure Island Membership Card) to a family each month.
A key element of the Adopt a Classroom program is the Rotary Literacy Advocate’s commitment to administer, consult with classroom teachers, and monitor the activity of the adopted classroom.
Reading Adventure Island Memberships Cards
What are the Reading Adventure Island Membership Cards about?
Rotary Literacy Advocates will gift a free Life Skills Book at a classroom reading each month. Attached to each life skills book is a Reading Adventure Island Membership Card. This card gives families free access to the proprietary Reading Adventure Island streaming website.
Each membership card will have a fill-in line that allows the sponsoring Rotary Literacy Advocate to print in its unique name and member number. Families that register their children on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website will use this name and number to log-in to access the website content.
Can a Rotary Literacy Advocate track the activity of a family’s use of the content in the Reading Adventure Island streaming website?
Yes! Each time a child logs-in to the streaming website, the sponsoring Rotary Literacy Advocate will have the ability to track the usage activity and literacy progress of the child. By tracking the progress of each child, an Advocates can recommend specific reading content on the streaming website that will help the child achieve his/her literacy goals.
Creating a Rotary Literacy Advocate Account
How do I open an account?
Signing up to become a Rotary Literacy Advocate is easy…just follow these simple steps:
Step#1: Create an Account
Once you click on the Sign-Up button on the Rotary Literacy Initiative nexus website, a Rotary Literacy Advocate Membership Account form will appear on your screen. Simply fill in the following information:
• A username and password for your account (you create this)
• Your Rotary International registration name or number
• Your email address
• Your credit card billing information
Step#2: Click on the “Submit and check out” button, and you’ll immediately be transferred to your personal Rotary Literacy Advocate Membership Account page. You’ll now have full access to the Smart Kidz Life Skills Bookstore and the Reading Adventure Island streaming website. You will also have the ability to customize the website to service your community’s needs.
How do I log-in to my personal account page once I become a member?
When you log-in, you will be transferred to your Rotary Literacy Advocate Membership Account Page. From this account page, you can access the catalog and/or order books from the Smart Kidz Life Skills Library Bookstore on a cost+ special price. You can also access the Rea
Once your account is opened, you can log in at any time by going to the Rotary Literacy Initiative nexus website’s Home page and clicking on the log-in button.
ding Adventure Island streaming website and monitor the activity of your member families at any time.
Do Rotary Literacy Advocates have to have an exclusive relationship with Smart Kidz Media?
Many Rotary Clubs that become Rotary Literacy Advocates have established fundraising and volunteer programs in place. Becoming an Advocate is not meant to replace the Rotary Literacy Advocates’ existing fundraising and community programs but to supplement them. Rotary Literacy Advocates can, however, attract more volunteers, increase their member base and service more children and families in their community by promoting the Adopt a Classroom program and the Reading Adventure Island streaming website.
Questions about the Reading Adventure Island Streaming Website
Is the Reading Adventure Island streaming website an effective tool at improving literacy rates among young children?
Children today are Internet savvy and spend many hours each day on their devices. To compete with this trend, Rotary Literacy Advocates need to attract children by providing entertaining media that promotes literacy.
The Reading Adventure Island is the only streaming website that features a proprietary, free Reading Made Easy, birth through 8 program on the Internet. This unique website is composed of thousands of digital media literacy resources including Smart Cardz (flip card technology), Immersive Readers (highlighting of words with narration technology) multimedia e-books, educational videos, audiobook stories, entertaining podcasts, kid’s radio programs, interactive educational games, and other educational digital media platforms.
It is well known that children are more motivated to read when they are enjoying themselves. This is what the Reading Adventure Island streaming website is all about—encouraging children to read, to explore, and learn new life skills concepts while having reading fun!
What does it cost a family or child to become a Reading Adventure Island member?
Participating families pay no membership fees for access to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website. Access to the content is free—and always will be free to those families that are sponsored by a Rotary Literacy Advocate.
How does a family or child access the content on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website?
Families with children must be sponsored by a Rotary Literacy Advocate. An Advocate gifts the families they sponsor a Reading Adventure Island Membership Card–which gives family members free access to the on-demand, streaming website.
Through the Adopt a Classroom reading program, a Rotary Literacy Advocate will give each child in the classroom a free Life Skills Book (with an attached Reading Adventure Island Membership Card). The Adopt a Classroom reading program also gives Rotary Literacy Advocates the opportunity connect with the classroom teacher and the parents to help establish educational goals, create a home reading environment, and show them how to effectively use the digital media content on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website to achieve those goals.
How do families use the Reading Adventure Island Membership Card?
Before reading a Life Skills Book to a classroom, a Rotary Literacy Advocate will gift a copy of that book to each child in the classroom. A Reading Adventure Island Membership Card is attached to the book…this membership card gives a child free access to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website.
The parents, with assistance from a Rotary Literacy Advocate, will go to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website and register their child by entering in the sponsor’s registration number, a user name, an email account, and a private password. Once the account is activated, a child can access the digital media content at any time and on any device by going to the Reading Adventure Island streaming website and logging-in.
What devices can families use to stream content from the Reading Adventure Island Streaming Website?
Using breakthrough streaming technology, content on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website can be accessed on all popular multimedia devices including televisions, desktop/laptop computers, tablets, smart phones, and most mobile devices.
How are the costs of servicing and maintaining the Reading Adventure Island Streaming Website covered?
The team at Smart Kidz Media updates and maintains the Reading Adventure Island streaming website. There are basic overhead expenses incurred by Smart Kidz Media to maintain this streaming website. These expenses are partially covered by grants, gifts, corporate sponsors and by Rotary Literacy Advocates yearly membership fees.
Can someone access the Reading Adventure Island Streaming Website from any other online source like Amazon, the Apple App Store, or Google Play?
No. All of the content on the Reading Adventure Island streaming website is exclusive to Rotary Literacy Advocates.
Why do you “stream” your digital media rather than having the Rotary Literacy Advocates download the content?
“Downloading” digital media to a user’s device is outdated technology. Downloading high definition or broadcast quality Mp4 and Mp3 videos, multimedia e-books or musical programs sometimes takes hours to complete before the user can begin using the media. Also, downloaded files can only be used on certain devices.
Questions about the Smart Kidz Life Skills Library
What is the Smart Kidz Life Skills Library all about?
Printed Life Skills Books are at the heart of the Smart Kidz Life Skills Library. This unique library introduces children to Life Skills Books—books that will help them learn and acquire personal skills, social skills, and coping skills–such as communication skills, thinking skills, positive values, good manners and problem-solving skills.
The Smart Kidz Life Skills Library’s age-graded life skills books give parents tools to create a home environment where children can learn new living skills while sharpening their reading skills more naturally and confidently. With the Smart Kidz Life Skills Library in the home, parents can feel confident that they are giving their child the best possible start in life!
Life Skills Books are available to Rotary Literacy Advocates through the Life Skills Library Bookstore–a website updated and maintained by Smart Kidz Media.
How do Rotary Literacy Advocates order book titles featured in the Life Skills Library Bookstore?
The book titles featured in the Life Skills Library Bookstore are exclusive to Rotary Literacy Advocates. Life Skills Books are not available to third parties—including internet providers (e.g. Amazon), retail stores, schools and libraries.
Rotary Literacy Advocates can access the bookstore catalog that lists all the age-graded categories and titles available in the catalog from their club’s Rotary Literacy Advocates website. Advocates can order book titles by clicking on the “Order Now” button appearing in the catalog.
Easy ordering: Click on the titles that you want to order, and they will be placed in your shopping cart.
What is the cost of Life Skills Books listed in the Life Skills Library Bookstore catalog?
Life Skills Books are proprietary and only available on the Life Skills Library Bookstore website. Smart Kidz Media does not inventory these book but negotiates with Print on Demand (POD) printers. Each Life Skills Book title comes in bundles of 100 books.
The printing cost of a book bundle is based on a special cost + shipping at the time the order is placed. These costs, provided by our printers, are based on the order quantity and paper costs. By combining purchase orders from several Rotary Literacy Advocates, Smart Kidz Media will negotiate the best cost possible with the printer on behalf of the Advocates. Printing costs are usually around $3 to $3.50/book (depending on order quantity).
Once you have selected your Life Skills Book bundles, you can then place them in the shopping cart. You can check out by filling out the order form and submitting it on the Life Skills Library Bookstore website. Ordered book titles are shipped directly to the Rotary Literacy Advocate‘s address.
How do families acquire free life skills books?
Rotary Literacy Advocates are exclusive providers of the Life Skills Books in the Life Skills Library Bookstore. While there are no eligibility requirements for parents or children to receive these free Life Skills Books, they must first be sponsored by a Rotary Literacy Advocate through the Adopt a Classroom reading program. Advocates are the only organizations that have the right to purchase the proprietary Life Skills Books (at a special discount) and to schedule, administer and read Life Skills Books to children in a classroom setting.