THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605110282
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Christopher Pagenkopf spent hours reading about airplanes. Dana DeLine could barely put down author Roald Dahl's page-turners.
While the two Taylor Elementary School fifth-graders don't need a reason to read, they recently hit the books for a good cause - to raise money for the city's public library system.
With the help of nearly 400 participants, including parents, teachers and principals, from 25 city schools, the ``Read for the Gold'' read-a-thon netted more than $4,200. The money will be used to stock the city's libraries with more children's books.
Christopher, Dana and seven other readers who clocked the most hours of reading time shared the limelight during a ceremony Friday at Harbor Park before a Norfolk Tides baseball game.
Christopher, who read 80 hours and won the ``gold'' medal in the elementary division, threw out the game's first pitch.
Dana, who said her mom gave her 25 cents for every 30 minutes behind a book, clocked 40 hours and raised $20. Dahl's books made reading a breeze, she said. ``He's very imaginative, and he keeps you in the book. It's like you're there almost.''
The grassroots effort was the first such fund-raiser sponsored by the Norfolk Public Library Foundation. Besides encouraging reading for fun, the read-a-thon offered the community a chance to generate money for a library system that many residents say has been in decline.
At Taylor Elementary, where students, parents and staff raised more than $1,000, principal Mary Ann Bowen said she saw the need.
``There were certain books we wanted them to read over the summer, and they had the most difficult time finding them,'' said Bowen, who won bronze in the adult reading division. ``We believe in wide reading, and if you want children to do well, they've got to have books.''
In response to public pressure, city officials have proposed a 10 percent increase in funding for the library system this year.
Sally G. Reed, the city's director of libraries, said she was gratified by the community support: ``That's one of the good things when times get tough. People start looking for how they can help.''
Christopher and Dana said they benefited from the reading experiences and felt good about helping the library.
``At first, I thought it was just a money-making thing,'' Christopher said, ``but it's actually pretty good because you're spending your time usefully and at the same time you're giving money to the library.''
KEYWORDS: FUND-RAISING NORFOLK PUBLIC LIBRARY by CNB