The San Diego-based nonprofit United Through Reading (UTR) will honor Coronado’s Carol Raiter with the Extraordinary Service Award at its seventh annual Storybook Ball on Nov. 14 at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa.
In 2009, Raiter spearheaded the organization’s first Storybook Ball gala to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Her vision for the event has since given United Through Reading a platform to raise critically needed funds. United Through Reading CEO Sally Ann Zoll, also of Coronado, said, “Carol has been instrumental to UTR, creating a yearly event that’s an effective fundraiser and, through her impeccable taste in color and design, a beautiful way for us to tell our story and garner support.”
Since that first event, the Storybook Ball has raised more than $2 million, which has enabled the organization to serve hundreds of thousands of military service members and their families. “Carol has a real passion for our mission, and she puts on a phenomenal event year after year,” Zoll said.
United Through Reading unites U.S. military families who face physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together. In nearly 200 locations worldwide, United Through Reading offers military service members the opportunity to be video recorded reading books to their children at home. The program creates emotional connections between service members and the children they read to, encourages early literacy skills, and makes homecomings easier on military families. Last year, with the help of more than 500 volunteers, United Through Reading served more than 100,000 beneficiaries and distributed more than 25,000 books to military children.
The Storybook Ball is a black tie event; tickets are $175 per person and are available by emailing StorybookBall@utr.org.
