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NEWS FROM
CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
February 3, 2009
Alliance Foundation Spin-A-Thon Raises Money to Support Childhood
Literacy
Cambridge, MA...The Alliance Foundation for Community Health's
3rd Annual Spin-A-Thon was held on Saturday, January 31, at the
Wellbridge Athletic Club in Cambridge. The Spin-A-Thon is a fundraising
event that benefits Project READ (Read Each and Every Day), a program
run by pediatricians at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA).
This year's Spin-A-Thon raised more than $5,000. Fifty people participated
in one or more of five spinning sessions. Spinning is a form of
high-intensity indoor cycling that involves using a stationary exercise
bicycle in a group setting. The cyclists contributed to Project
READ and many were also sponsored by friends, colleagues, and family
members. The event was followed by an informal reception catered
by Olé Mexican Grill.
Project READ promotes early childhood literacy in the pediatric
health care setting. At all sites within CHA where children are
seen - in the emergency rooms, at primary care sites for well- and
sick-child visits, while waiting with their parents for specialty
clinic visits - children are given a brand-new, age- and language-appropriate
book, and their families are counseled by medical personnel about
the importance of reading aloud to children.
More than 300,000 books have been distributed by Project READ since
its inception in 1998. A matching grant program means that every
one dollar of support of Project READ generates three additional
dollars for the purchase of books.
The 3rd Annual Spin-A-Thon was made possible through the sponsorship
of Wellbridge Athletic Club (Cambridge); Olé Mexican Grill
(Cambridge); Peak Brewing Company (Portland, ME); QuadMultiSport
(Arlington); Khalsa Chiropractic (Cambridge); Boston Ski and Sports
Club (Brighton); Canus Goat's Milk Soap (Waterbury, VT); and Stage5Cycling
(Arlington).
The Alliance Foundation for Community Health is a fundraising
body that supports regional academic healthcare system Cambridge
Health Alliance and, fundamentally, the individuals, families, and
communities CHA serves. The foundation is governed by a board of
community representatives, CHA staff and members from CHA's Board
of Trustees.
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