Sawyer Villanueva loves horses. She rides and learns about horses with Between Humans and Horses, a nonprofit program pairing children and young adults with horses to build leadership and communication skills. They teach at Maddi’s Friesien Ranch in Nevada. The ranch owners generously donate the facility to the program.
As a nonprofit they need to raise money through donations. One day while riding, Sawyer got an idea, by combining two things she loves, reading and horses, she could help raise money for Between Humans and Horses.
“I love to read and I wanted to raise money for the program,” she said. She called her fundraising project a read-a-thon and decided it would last a week.
Sawyer reading books. A good reading pillow makes all the difference!
Typically Sawyer checks out 10-15 library books per week and reads them all. She takes a shopping bag to the sections of the library she likes and fills up her bag. Sometimes her mother sneaks in new books for her to try and sometimes she rereads her favourite books. She is lucky, her library allows her to place transfer holds from county partner libraries on books that her library doesn’t have. The books arrive within a week!
1. How many books would Sawyer have read for the entire month of March if she checked out 12 books each week?
The week before the read-a-thon, Sawyer placed holds on 40 books – the most holds she was allowed to place. She was ready!
The read-a-thon began, she read:
- The Rainbow Magic fairy books by Daisy Meadows,
- A-Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy and
- The Capitol Mysteries series by Ron Roy.
At the time, the Rainbow Magic books were her favourites, but if you asked her today, she’d say the A-Z Mysteries and The Sisters 8 series of books are her favourites.
Sawyer on Mo, the pony she started on when she first began the program.
During the read-a-thon, Sawyer spent 2 to 5 hours reading each day and read about 3-5 books per day.
2. If Sawyer read an average of 3 hours a day, how many hours did she spend reading during the week of the read-a-thon?
Sawyer’s goal for the read-a-thon was to read 40 books. She realized that she would have a better idea of whether or not she would meet her goal if she knew how long it took her to read one book. She timed herself reading a typical book. It took her 45 minutes.
3. Using this data, how many hours did Sawyer estimate she would need to reach her goal of 40 books?
Sawyer keeping track of the books she’s read.
On the night before the last day of her 7 days, Sawyer had read 32 books.
4. How many more books would she need to read to reach her goal?
Using the 45 min/book fact, Sawyer calculated how many hours she would need to read to reach her goal.
5. How many hours did she need?
Despite her best intentions, Sawyer had school, chores and a playdate that final day and fell short of her goal by just 3 books.
6. How many books did Sawyer finish reading for her read-a-thon?
At the end of the read-a-thon Sawyer collected and added up the money donated by her sponsers. In seven days, Sawyer raised $707.50!
Sawyer’s contribution was added to the $21,000 raised during the organization’s fall fundraiser.
7. What was the new total after Sawyer’s contribution was added? Give your answer in word form.
Barbara Slade, head trainer for the Between Humans and Horses program was moved by Sawyer’s generosity. “You remind me of a little fairy,” Slade told Sawyer. “You bring joy, love and good luck.”
“This will help us invite a couple more children, and buy a bag or two of treats. We live in a very generous community of nice people who care and are willing to share,” she said.
Sawyer now rides Chip, a bigger horse than Mo. She is not intimidated by Chip’s size. “I like being up on a horse,” she said. “You just have to trust horses, and trust yourself. You can’t get freaked out around them.”
1. How many books would Sawyer have read for the entire month of March if she checked out 12 books each week?
Answer: 12 x 4 = 48. She would have read 48 books.
2. If Sawyer read an average of 3 hours a day, how many hours did she spend reading during the week of the read-a-thon?
Answer: 3 x 7 = 21. She would have read 21 hours.
3. Using this data, how many hours did Sawyer estimate she would need to reach her goal of 40 books?
Answer:
Step 1: 40 x 45 minutes = 1800 minutes
Step 2: 1800 ÷ 60 = 30. She estimated she would need 30 hours to read 40 books.
4. How many more books would she need to read to reach her goal?
Answer: 40 – 32 = 8. She would need to read 8 more books.
5. How many hours did she need?
Answer:
Step 1: 8 x 45 = 360 minutes
Step 2: 360 ÷ 60 = 6. She would need to read for six hours.
6. How many books did Sawyer finish reading for her read-a-thon?
Answer: 40 – 3 = 37. Sawyer read 37 books in one week!
7. What was the new total after Sawyer’s contribution was added? Give your answer in word form.
Answer: $21,000 + $707.50 = $21,707.50. The new total was twenty-one thousand seven hundred and seven dollars and fifty cents.
Photos:
Courtesy of Sawyer and her mom, Tonia Villanueva
