Jumpstart Annual Event Raises $756K, Beating Goal by 51%

June 3, 2014 — Jumpstart, a national nonprofit based in Boston that trains college students and community volunteers to serve preschool-age children in low-income neighborhoods, which aimed to raise $500,000 at its recent annual fundraiser, beat its goal by 51%, raising $756,205.

Funds raised at the annual Scribbles to Novels, at which attendees get an opportunity to meet well-known authors in an intimate setting, will support Jumpstart programs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

About 300 people attended Scribbles to Novels event at the InterContinental Boston, about the same number as last year, which raised $500,000.

A $50,000 challenge, put forward by board member Chris Stadler, was matched dollar-for-dollar.

“We are so grateful to our former board member and event’s honoree, Mark Nunnelly, and his colleagues at Bain Capital, as well our dynamic and engaging authors, who helped to make this such a memorable and successful night for Jumpstart and the more than 2,000 children we serve in the Northeast alone.” Mark Reilly, Jumpstart regional vice president.

The event raised nearly 40% of Jumpstart’s annual private revenue target for its work in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

This year’s event celebrated Jumpstart’s service to children over the last twenty-one years and featured renowned sportswriter and television analyst, Bob Ryan and bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Jeff Kinney.

The Scribbles to Novels event also featured a roundtable discussion highlighting the importance of literature and education in the lives of a number of distinguished authors, raising awareness of Jumpstart’s mission to work to have child in America entering kindergarten prepared to succeed. A uthors included Gish Jen, author of Tiger Writing: Art, Culture, and the Interdependent Self; Sue Miller, author of Oprah’s Book Club selection While I Was Gone; and Mary Pope Osborne, award-winning author of the Magic Tree House series.

The event honored Mark Nunnelly, managing director of Bain Capital, for his years of service on Jumpstart’s national board of directors and his leadership in education reform.

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