Join us for a Summer Read-A-Thon!

August 1st - August 31st

This summer, families will pledge to read together and invite friends and loved ones to sponsor their efforts with a donation to Bright Spot Network.

Our goal is simple: bring families together through reading while raising $15,000 to fully fund our popular Bright Reads program through the end of the year, ensuring 400 families facing a parent's cancer continue receiving free books and support when they need it most.

We’re inviting families, kids, grandparents, neighbors, and communities to join us by creating a fundraising page, setting a reading together goal, and sharing why this cause matters to them.

Whether you read 10 books, 100 pages, or every night before bed, every story shared helps create brighter days for families facing cancer. We have prizes for all Read-A-Thon participants, including a grand prize for the top fundraiser.

How It Works

Sign Up—Create your personal or family Read-A-Thon fundraising page and share your story. Everything you need to get started is in our Read-A-Thon Toolkit, from setup instructions to fundraising templates.
Read Together—You choose what you're reading toward, whether that's a number of books, pages, consecutive nights together, or simply a commitment to read before bed all month long. Only tracks books, pages, or minute if you want! Pick your favorite books and center your reading routine with purpose
Share & Raise Support—Invite friends, family, and coworkers to sponsor your reading with a donation to honor your journey and ensure families facing a parent’s cancer don’t have to do it alone.
Celebrate! We’ll be celebrating everyone who participates with prizes, shout outs, and more!
Bonus: Share your family reading together on social media! Tag us @brightspotnetwork and use the hashtag #ReadingTogetherIsMagic

Thank you to our Parent Advisory Board

Our Summer Read-A-Thon is community-led by Bright Spot Network's Parent Advisory Board, parents who have navigated a cancer diagnosis while raising young children and experienced our programs firsthand. They've sat in our virtual support groups, read Bright Reads books with their kids, and found community when they needed it most. They're championing this campaign because they know the impact of Bright Spot Network and their stories, lived experience, and leadership are what make it possible.

Thank you to our generous Read-A-Thon Sponsors!

Interested in Sponsoring the Read-A-Thon? Partnering with Bright Spot Network connects your organization with a passionate community of families, caregivers, advocates, and supporters united around ensuring that no family faces a parent's cancer alone. Click here to learn more. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact haley@brightspotnetwork.org.

About our Bright Reads Program

Reading together can be a meaningful place of reconnection when the chaos of doctor's appointments, treatments, and unanswered questions looms large. Bright Spot Network's Bright Reads program helps parents and children navigate those moments together through carefully selected, age-appropriate books about cancer, illness, feelings, grief, and loss.

Every book in the Bright Reads collection has been vetted by clinical professionals and parents who have experienced cancer firsthand, ensuring families receive trusted, compassionate resources. In addition to books, families receive discussion guides and coloring pages designed to encourage meaningful conversations and help children process their parent's cancer, changes to their routine, and their own feelings. Bright Reads is offered at no cost.

In 2025, Bright Reads reached 1,000 families and delivered more than 2,000 books — a 53% increase in program growth since 2021. Families consistently report that the program strengthens connection and communication during a challenging time: 93% of parents said Bright Reads increased connection with their children, 91% said it helped them talk about cancer and feelings, 88% said it helped them answer their children's questions, 86% reported decreased isolation, and 80% reported reduced stress.

As one parent shared, "The Bright Reads books help me talk to my young kids about what is happening in a way that is honest, gentle, and age-appropriate. They opened the door to conversations we wouldn't have known how to start on our own."

Funds raised through the Summer Read-A-Thon will directly support Bright Reads, ensuring more families have access to these resources when they need them most.

Reading Together is a Bright Spot

Turn story time into support for families facing a parent's cancer. Every donation to our Read-a-Thon helps sustain Bright Reads, one of the many free programs Bright Spot Network offers to families navigating a parent's cancer.

Team Members