Stanley I. Raider (SIR) Literacy Foundation

My grandfather, Dr. Stanley I. Raider (1934-2019) was an avid reader, carrying a book with him wherever he went, from plane trips to trips to the theater. He read everything from inappropriately funny Phillip Roth and Jonathan Tropper novels to books on learning to draw, the science of sports, and astrophysics. He was a brilliant man, holding a Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry and doing life-changing work on semiconductors, superconductors, and mainframe computers. He believed that the more you read, the more you could learn, the more perspectives you could share, the more you could do. 

For the past five years, I have collected books for children in need throughout New York, working with GAMECHANGER Guidance, an educational consulting company, to get books into the hands of children in need. I helped to collect more than 18,000 books to donate to various organizations throughout Westchester and New York counties, including Neighbors’ Link of Northern Westchester, Yonkers’s Need to Read program, and the Children’s Aid Society of New York. During the pandemic, I recruited students to read stories to young children who had no one to read to them, posting read-alongs on the GAMECHANGER Guidance YouTube channel and connecting with children in need. 

While I plan to continue these initiatives, I would like to take my work one step further. I am establishing this literacy foundation, in memory of my grandfather, to help more children have access to the educational resources that they need to learn to read. While continuing to get more books into the hands of more children in need, I will also donate 30 percent of all profits from my books towards funding resources that will support children struggling to become proficient readers. From supplying reading materials to connecting children in need to early education reading specialists and multi-sensory reading teachers, I hope to help more children learn to read, making both books and educational resources accessible to a greater number of children. 

For more information about donating books, helping children have easier access to reading support, and donating to SIR, please email me at raiderreadspub@gmail.com. 

The Stanley I. Raider Literacy Foundation is a not-for-profit organization.