This year, the Ben Carson Reading Project hit a huge milestone, and we celebrated it the best way we know how… with reading! In honor of the program’s 25th anniversary, CSF launched its very first Readathon. Beginning on March 3, 2025, schools competed over a six-week period to log the most minutes read in their reading rooms. The prize? A generous $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second, and $1,000 for third! These funds will help schools replenish their reading rooms and rekindle the magic they brought when they first opened.

Participants wasted no time getting started, encouraging their students to read books of their choice for a chance at the prize. In total, a whopping 251,950 minutes were read across all participating schools!

Schools participated all over the country in Florida, Maryland, Ohio, California, and Texas! We were thrilled to see so many of our reading room partners embrace the challenge. Many educators shared their heartfelt appreciation for the opportunity to refresh their reading spaces. As the coordinator from Ensley Elementary School in Pensacola, FL shared, “Thank you for giving us even more reasons to inspire reading in our reading room at Ensley!”

The first-place prize was proudly claimed by Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane Elementary School in Palm Springs, FL! Their reading room, which first opened in 2019, continues to serve as a beautiful reading oasis. It was inspiring to see how much joy it still brings students six years later. We can’t wait to see the upgrades they make with their well-earned prize funds!

Second place went to Ware East Texas Montessori Academy in Longview, TX, who showed incredible enthusiasm and consistency throughout the competition. Youth’s Benefit Elementary School in Fallston, MD earned third place and impressed us with their commitment to literacy. Congratulations to all of our winners. You truly went above and beyond.

This wonderful opportunity would not have been possible without the generous support of our Readathon sponsor, the Louis and Phyllis Friedman Foundation. Thank you for continuously supporting our mission to bring books to the hands of children across the nation.

A heartfelt thank you to all the schools that participated in our first CSF Readathon. It was a joy to celebrate our 25th anniversary with you, and you helped make this event unforgettable. The excitement doesn’t end here. We’re giving you another opportunity to earn funding for your reading rooms. Our second Readathon is coming this fall. Get your books ready, we’re just getting started!