About the challenge

In March of 2020, Haverhill Schools made the difficult decision to close their doors for what they thought would be just two weeks to help stop the spread of Covid-19. No one could have predicted at that time just how the next weeks and months would play out, but Haverhill Promise knew that no matter what happened with school, we had to find away to encourage Haverhill students to JUST KEEP READING!

The challenge was simple:

• Read for at least 20 minutes each day while home during the Covid-19 learning disruption.

• Track your daily reading Monday-Friday, and submit your log to Haverhill Promise at the end of each week.

• Win prizes! Haverhill Promise selected 5 participants at random each week to win a $25 gift card to Market Basket, Barnes & Noble, or a Haverhill restaurant of their choice.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

750 Haverhill students of all ages from 21 Haverhill schools participated in at least one week of what ended up being a 13-week challenge!

We gave away $1,625 in gift cards, and supported 13 different restaurants (selected by winners) during a challenging time for dining establishments.

Over 200 students participated in the Challenge for 6 weeks or more and were invited to help paint a special mural celebrating reading at the conclusion of the Challenge. Around 50 of those students and their families attended one of three socially distant painting sessions on the lawn of Creative' Haverhill’s Cogswell ArtSpace. The finished mural “Reading Takes Us Places” was installed in Downtown Haverhill in November of 2020.