Winter20 Read-a-Thon: Team Challenge Home Page

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

It's not news that 2020 has been tough. For just about everyone. And I think we're all pretty ready for the year to come to a close. But even in the hardest years, there's some positive events to be found. Focusing on that positivity can do some serious healing to our (tired) brains.



So this event's team challenge is focused on finding that good. In this time's team challenge, you and your teammates will be tasked with reading books to go along with positive news stories from 2020.

Each book read for the team will need to connect in some way to one of the positive news stories. The more connections you find, the more points you can earn.

Theme (i.e. age, storyline, topic, etc.): 1 point
Numbers (i.e. dates, article topics, page count, etc.): 1 point
Location: 2 points
Names (incl. authors, characters): 3 points
Title (article subjects found in title of book): 3 points
Objects (found in article and on cover of the book or major plot-point): 3 points
Own Voices: 5 points

Grand Prize!
Finish a book connected to every positive news story below: 75 points

What about pages?
This is a bit of a bonus. For every 1,000 pages read as a group, you earn one wildcard. Wildcards allow you to cross one article off your list, getting you closer to the grand prize!

Examples:
News story: [Utah] Banned Discredited LGBTQ ‘Conversion Therapy’ as Destructive
Book: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Set in Utah = 2 points
LGBTQ+ themes = 1 point
Own Voices = 5 points

News Story: 98-Year-old D-Day Veteran Recreates Photo With Belgian Boy Who Befriended Him During WWII
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
Theme (reuniting) = 1 point

You will be given a spreadsheet to track your reading adventures.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

THE TEAMS

Team Hope
Ellie
Aimee
Bec
Johanne
Sandra
Ira
Dubhease
Hilde

Team Joy
Sherri
Rachel
Joan
Hannah
Johanna
Jen K
Kelly
Emily B
Karissa

Team Optimism
Nancy
Kendra
Kathy
Robin
Kim
Kathy Jo
Storm
Errlee
Alicia

Team Fortitude
Jillian
Jill
Traci
Laurel
Roxana
Chrissy
Devin
Veronica
Marin

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

THE POSITIVE NEWS STORIES

(view spoiler)[

Army Veteran Who is a Double Amputee Conquers the Matterhorn

Bird-Friendly Turbines: Study finds bird strikes can be cut by up to 70 percent simply by painting one blade of a wind turbine black

Notre-Dame’s Bees Keep Buzzing Through Crises, Surviving Despite the Fires

Germany Makes a Push for Gender Equality With the Passing of the "Strong for the Future” Plan

Italy’s Oldest Graduate: Giuseppe Paternò has become Italy’s oldest graduate at the age of 96

Orchestra Brings Beethoven to the Deaf: A Hungarian orchestra is helping deaf people to “hear” and enjoy the music of Beethoven through touch

Football Club Uses Social Media to Find Missing Children, has found 6 since the campaign started

Man Opens Up His Home to Shelter 300 Dogs From a Hurricane: ‘It doesn’t matter if the house is dirty’

After Learning a Single Dad Struggled With Confinement and Kids in High-Rise, Couple Lets Them Use Beach Home

Athlete with Downs Syndrome Makes History as First to Finish an Iron Man Race – and Gifts the Medal to His Mom

98-Year-Old D-Day Veteran Recreates Photo With Belgian boy who Befriended Him During WWII

Grandson Brings 95-Year-Old WWII Vet on Epic Bucket List RV Trip

Man sits with typewriter on NYC sidewalk to help strangers send letters to ‘Friends Feeling Blue’

This Vermont Mountain Retreat is a Mecca for Dogs and Dog lovers Across the World

New Study Shows Garden Areas Improved the Immune Systems of Daycare Children in Only a Month

Howling With Joy: After 45 years, the gray wolf has successfully been lifted off the US Endangered Species List

Iconic New York Bookstore Flooded With $200,000 in Orders After Plea to Fans Helped Avert Closure

Amazon Tribes are Excited to Use Drones to Detect Illegal Deforestation in Brazilian Rainforest

8-Year-old Sees Stars for the First Time After His Blindness is Treated With Gene Therapy

Canadian Researchers Gave Homeless People $7,500 Each and the Results are so Uplifting

Young Inventor Turns Her Disability into 'Superpower’ After Building Prosthetic Arm That Shoots Glitter

A New Emoji is Being Proposed to Help Show Forgiveness

Lonely Otter at Sanctuary Finds Love Through Online Dating Site Built Just For Him

Fires Have Helped These Endangered Woodpeckers Make a Comeback, and It’s a Reminder of Nature’s Resiliency

This Veteran is Helping Fellow Vets Transition to Civilian Life Through Video Gaming

Innovative Renovations of Old Hotels Make Perfect Affordable Housing

Hormel Foods to Provide Free College Education to Children of All its 16,000 Employees

Brave Hospital Staff Stays Behind in Hurricane to Care for 19 Babies in Intensive Care

Beautiful Mural in Warsaw Eats Up Smog, Purifying The Air Equal to 720 Trees

Protest Sign Made by Third Grader Inspires the Nation When it Mysteriously Travels to Protests

Artist Sends 1,800 of His Flower Paintings to a Brooklyn Hospital–One for Every Cook, Nurse, and Janitor

Racist Incident Inspires Dads Club to Launch Surprise Fundraiser to Make Immigrant Family Feel Welcome

Man is Honoring Handshake From 28 Years Ago, Splitting Lottery Jackpot With a Friend After Winnings Millions

What’s in Their Pockets? An Adorable Look at What Children Around the World Carry As Treasure

Boy Created a Word Puzzle to Help Entertain the Queen in Lockdown—And Was Thrilled to Get a Letter Back

Scientists Generate Electrical Field That Can Help Repair Fractured Bones

First U.S. Woman to Walk in Space Just Traveled to the Ocean’s Deepest Depth

After Finding His African City Missing From Maps, Zimbabwe Man Creates 2,000 Miles of Google Street Views

New Mexico School Buys $2,800 of Supplies For Navajo Nation After Year-end Class Trip is Canceled

World Celebrates Central America’s First Same-Sex Marriage After Costa Rica Passes Trailblazing Legislation

Irish People Are Repaying Debt of Gratitude to Suffering Native Americans 170 Years After Potato Famine

Teens Launch Hotline for Isolated Seniors to Listen to Pre-Recorded Jokes, Stories, and Messages of Hope

This Café Offers Work and Support to Youth Who Have Aged Out of the Texas Foster Care System

Inmates Are Earning Free College Degrees Behind Bars, And Their Recidivism Rate Plunges to 2%

[Utah] Banned Discredited LGBTQ ‘Conversion Therapy’ as Destructive

Dozens of Proud Students Show Up in Court To Watch Their Teacher Become a US Citizen After 13 Years

US Department of Transportation to Ban Dog Breed Discrimination on Airlines—Particularly Against Pit Bulls

First Ever ‘Pet Detective’ in China is on the Case, Reuniting Over 1,000 Animals With Their Families So Far

Man Finally Rescued After Spending 20 Days in Alaskan Wilderness Following Cabin Fire

These Photographers Captured Some of the Most Dazzling Pictures of Mother Earth’s Landscapes (hide spoiler)]

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

FAQ's

Can a book count for more than one story?
Sorry but no. Please pick one news story to pair with each book read.

Can you find more than one connection for the same book/news story pair?
Yes, you can find as many connections as possible. This is meant to be fun so don't stress too much about your connections. If you can define then it likely is fine.

Does any "own voices" book count? Or would it be "own voices" connected to the news story?
The "own voices" book has to be directly connected to the group that is featured in the story. For example, the Utah story is about LGBTQIA+ rights and the book (Autoboyography) is an "own voices" book for the same group. It also happens to be set in Utah (score!)

[Ellie]

I'm gonna start crying if I read those stories of kindness, aren't I?

[Johanne]

This is kinda hard. Can you interpret it rather freely? For instance I'm reading a journalist's memoirs of her years living in Italy in the 1970's: Would that work for oldest graduate?

[Jen K]

Oh fun, the Vermont Mecca Retreat is in my hometown! I've been to Dog Mountain a few times and it is fabulous though the artist's death is a sad story.

[Johanne]

I didn't mean it as a criticism, it looks really cool. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Johanne wrote: "This is kinda hard. Can you interpret it rather freely? For instance I'm reading a journalist's memoirs of her years living in Italy in the 1970's: Would that work for oldest graduate?"

In the past we have been creative with the prompts. There are plenty of general ones, like about nature, dogs, or love. You can discuss any of them with your team if you like.

[Johanne]

@Robin, I know, and I will, I was just trying to get a feel for the level of creativeness allowed. Oh well, it's friday night and my brain is fried. The creative problem-solving juices will flow more freely in the morning I expect.

[Kim]

I've never done the Team Challenge before, so I'm not sure what the prompts are about. Are you saying I can't just read whatever random books I want?

[Errlee]

Am I missing something? I have no idea what prompts people are referring to? I’m reading on my iPad so is it an issue with the mobile site?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I will be updating the thread shortly. It will have some of the details, including what can count and some extra layers of challenge. I will also be posting the teams and their threads.

Kim, you technically have to read a book that fits in order to get as many points as possible. But given the number of articles, I suspect you can make most books fit somewhere :)

[Johanne]

Thanks Laura :)

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Johanne wrote: "This is kinda hard. Can you interpret it rather freely? For instance I'm reading a journalist's memoirs of her years living in Italy in the 1970's: Would that work for oldest graduate?"

You would be able to earn points based on the connection with location (Italy). I'm guessing you could also make a connection with age (elderly main characters) depending on your author's age.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I think in the past we could count a book we already started if we have over 100 pages left. Is that the case? And is there a minimum length of book?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

100 pages is fine :) I think that's a good overall minimum (length of book or book remaining)

[Johanne]

Thank you Laura, I can definitely work write that :)