Brand Development, Media Relations, Fundraising,
Event coordination, Creative Services and Project Management

This Little Free Library Neighborhood Initiative, placed-based literacy campaign, is our pet project. The goal is to decrease this community’s 95 percent adult illiteracy rate, at least 3 percent, over the next 5 years by uniting the community around improving literacy, igniting an overall love for reading, encouraging the exchange of free books
and changing the optics. As crazy as it may sound, we committed to host at least one literacy-based event per
month from April 2018 to April 2019 with zero funding. A huge undertaking, but we’re up for it.

 

We started with what we know, brand development, then garnered support from community and civic leaders
to coordinate read-alouds, book-giveaways and other events unique to this neighborhood with a 7-week long
Family Literacy Night in conjunction with Cleveland’s Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones, The Hough Branch
of Cleveland Public Library and VoiceIt Radio being our most successful. And, that’s when we learned what
we’re really up against.

 

We’ve also secured a $2500 grant from Neighborhood Connections and launched a $1 crowd-sourcing
campaign with IOBY, where we raised $3,309 to cover the cost of developing an outdoor media campaign
and establishing a digital presence. Exciting is the best way to describe the first year of Hough Reads and
we look forward to a bright future.

 

To learn more: www.houghreads.com

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Client Testimonial:

 

"I am writing on behalf of  Rhonda Crowder and her team at Rhonda Crowder and Associates
(RCA) on an incredible first year of Hough Reads. In 2018, Hough Reads became the second
neighborhood- wide literacy program under the umbrella of Little Free Libraries. Rhonda's talents
engaged stakeholders and community members alike. They developed the branding of the program,
secured  grant and private funding, brought the program media attention and coordinated 
community outreach events throughout the year at a variety of locations. As the representative of
one of those locations, historic League Park, I commend without hesitation RCA  accomplishments
as the lead on Hough Reads and look forward to what comes next.

 

—Margaret Reardon

                                                                            Administrator Baseball Heritage Museum