Sweet Readers, Inc. (“Sweet Readers,” “we,” “us” or “our”) has created a website at www.sweetreaders.org (the “Website” or “Site”) devoted to communicating with and educating the public regarding intergenerational connections, brain health and Alzheimer’s Disease (“AD”) and raising funds to support Sweet Readers’ activities and programs, as well as scientific research in the fields of aging, neurology and AD.
Sweet Readers is committed to maintaining your privacy. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) covers how we collect, use, and treat personal information that we may collect through our Website. Our Privacy Policy applies to any visitor to the Website (collectively, “you”), including (a) casual visitors to our Website who do not sign up for an account on the Website (“Site Visitors”), (b) users who have registered with our Website and who have engaged with us to conduct Sweet Readers branded programming (“Program Users”), (c) users who have registered with our Website to participate in a Sweet Readers program (a “Program”) or who have coordinated with us to conduct fundraising and other educational activities on a more limited basis (“Community Users”), and (d) users who have registered with our Website and who desire to discuss or promote Sweet Readers’ programming and activities in the media (“Media Users”) (Program Users, Community Users, and Media Users together, “Registered Users”).
1. Your Consent. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully; once you consent to this Policy’s terms, it creates legal obligations on you and on Sweet Readers. We ask you to show your consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy in different ways, depending on your relationship to the Website. The procedures for consenting to this Policy are (a) less formal for Site Visitors, and (b) more formal if you are seeking to use the Website as a Registered User.
1.1. Consent by Site Visitor. By accessing and using our Site as a Site Visitor, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to be legally bound by it. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please refrain from using our Site.
1.2. Consent by Registered Users. If you register as a user of our Website, you will be prompted to click an “I Accept” button linked to this Policy during the registration process. Clicking “I Accept” confirms your consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
2. The Types Of Information You May Provide. Information you may provide to Sweet Readers falls into two broad categories: (i) personally identifiable information, and (ii) aggregate information. We use the term “Personally Identifiable Information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, e-mail address, birth date, financial information, photograph, telephone number or any combination of information that could be used to identify you. “Anonymous Information” is information that does not identify you, and may include statistical information concerning, for example, your use of our Website and associated Services, including the aspects of our Website that Registered Users use most frequently.
3. Personally Identifiable Information; Our Uses Of This Information. We will not share your Personally Identifiable Information that we receive in connection with the Website with third parties, other than as expressly disclosed in this Privacy Policy or otherwise with your express consent. We collect information from Registered Users at different points through our Website and through our Services, and use this information as follows:
3.1. Registration Information; User Names. In order to participate in our Services or obtain access to the Sweet Readers Content (as defined in our Terms of Use), we require that you complete a registration form so that you are a Registered User. Our registration forms will specify the information which you must provide, which may include such items as (i) name; (ii) email address; (iii) mailing address; (iv) phone number; and (v) financial account information. Our registration forms may additionally request information, which you may, at your option, choose to provide or withhold. The registration process provides Registered Users with the ability to select a user name and password, which allows them to gain access to the password protected areas of the Website. This information is used by Sweet Readers solely for internal purposes in providing the Services.
3.1.1. Protecting Your Password. Please be careful to keep your password private. Please refer to our Terms of Use regarding suggestions for protecting your password.
3.2. Payment Processing. Please note that although you may provide your payment information through our Website in connection with making a donation, Sweet Readers does not store your financial account information. Sweet Readers uses a reputable third party service provider (the “Payment Processing Company”) to collect and process your payment information. We will not keep your credit card information. Rest assured that we have taken steps to ensure that the Payment Processing Company protects Personally Identifiable Information it collects from you in compliance with our Privacy Policy.
3.3. Changing Information. If you are a Registered User, you can edit the information you have provided to us via the Website.
3.4. Email Addresses. Registered Users may wish to provide us with comments and feedback concerning our Website generally. By communicating with us for these purposes, you may provide us with Personally Identifiable Information. In these instances, we use any information you provide to us strictly for the purposes for which you submit the information.
3.5. Questionnaires and Surveys. Our Website may allow Registered Users to participate in surveys and/or questionnaires, which we may post via the Website from time to time. You are free to choose whether you participate in a survey or questionnaire. We may ask that, in addition to providing your responses, you also provide Personally Identifiable Information. In these instances, we use any information you provide to us strictly for the purposes for which you submit the information. Survey and questionnaire information may be used for the purposes of monitoring or improving the use and appeal of our Website.
3.6. Informational Notices and Bulletins. Periodically, we may choose to send news, bulletins, marketing materials, or other information to Registered Users, and will use Personally Identifiable Information to send such communications. If we choose to undertake such communications, you will have the ability to opt out of receiving these communications as provided in Section 7 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out).
3.7. Blogs, Message Boards. We may offer a blog or message board system on our Website and you may choose to participate in an online discussion or to provide online comments. Any comments you contribute to the online dialogue, however, become public immediately and any Personally Identifiable Information you disclose becomes available to the other participants in the discussion. Our Privacy Policy does not cover the information you disclose in such online discussions on our Website. You should, therefore, use discretion in what you submit to these exchanges.
3.8. Extent of Information Collected. Sweet Readers does not collect any more Personally Identifiable Information than reasonably necessary to provide the Services.
4. Anonymous, Aggregate Information. We use Anonymous Information to analyze the effectiveness of our Website, to improve our Services, and for other similar purposes. In addition, from time to time, we may undertake or commission statistical and other summary analyses of the general behavior and characteristics of users participating in our Services. We may collect Anonymous Information through features of the software that supports our Services, through cookies, and through other means described below.
4.1. IP Addresses; Logs. Sweet Readers may automatically receive and record information in our server logs from your browser, including your IP address (the Internet address of your mobile device), your mobile device’s name, the type and version of your web browser, referrer addresses and other generally-accepted log information. We may also record page views (hit counts) and other general statistical and tracking information, which will be aggregated with that of other users in order to understand how our Website is being used, and for security and monitoring purposes. None of this data alone can be used to identify you.
4.2. Cookies. A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, which is sent to your browser from a website and stored on your mobile device’s hard drive. Cookies can be used to provide you with a tailored user experience and to make it easier for you to use a website upon a future visit. We may include cookies on our Website and use them to recognize you when you return to our Website. You may set your browser so that it does not accept cookies. Cookies must be enabled on your web browser, however, if you wish to access certain personalized features of our Services.
4.3. Tags. We may use so-called “pixel tags” — small graphic images (also know as “web beacons” or “single-pixel GIFS”) — to tell us what parts of our Website have been visited or to measure the effectiveness of user activity on our Website. Pixel tags also enable us to send email messages in a format users can read, and they inform us whether emails have been opened, to help ensure that our messages are of interest to our users. None of this data includes Personally Identifiable Information, and you can “opt-out” of receiving these types of emails from us by following the directions provided in Section 7 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out). If any Personally Identifiable Information is collected using such tools, it will be subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
4.4. Click-Throughs. We may send email messages, which use a “click-through URL” linked to content on our Website. When you click one of these URLs, you pass through our web server before arriving at the Website. We track this click-through data to help determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our Registered User communications. If you prefer not to be tracked simply do not click text or graphic links in the email, or notify us in accordance with Section 7 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out).
4.5. Computer Configuration. In order to determine whether your mobile device is supported by our system, we may collect certain Anonymous Information. This information includes, but may not be limited to, your operating system and browser, as well as the presence of any software that our Website may require to operate with your mobile device, or other third party software on your mobile device. This information is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with third parties, except as provided for in this Privacy Policy.
5. Any Information Linked With Your Personally Identifiable Information Is Protected As “Personally Identifiable Information.” To enable us to better understand the characteristics of our Registered Users and/or to provide services tailored to your needs, we may link (a) the Personally Identifiable Information you have provided; with (b) Anonymous Information. If we combine or link any Anonymous Information or other information with your Personally Identifiable Information, the resulting combination will be treated and protected as Personally Identifiable Information under this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, no unrelated third parties will have access to this information, and any of our service providers who are granted access to this information will be bound to protect it in accordance with this Policy.
6. We Do Not Disclose Personally Identifiable Information to Unaffiliated Third Parties; Limited Exceptions. We will not disclose your Personally Identifiable Information collected by Sweet Readers to unaffiliated third parties without your express consent, except in the following limited circumstances:
6.1. Sweet Readers Website Vendors. We may employ other companies to perform functions on our behalf, such as hosting or maintaining the Website, providing services related to the Website including but not limited to payment processing, collecting information, responding to and sending electronic mail, or other functions necessary to our business. We may need to share your Personally Identifiable Information with these companies (collectively, “Sweet Readers Vendors”). We will provide Sweet Readers Vendors with only that information necessary to perform their functions, and we will not allow them to use your Personally Identifiable Information for any other purpose.
6.2. Question of Harm. We may reveal your Personally Identifiable Information to attorneys, private investigator organizations or law enforcement agencies if we believe (a) that you are in risk of harm from another, or (b) that you are harming or interfering (or will harm or interfere) with others or violating (either intentionally or unintentionally) our Terms and Conditions of Use or otherwise violating legal rights.
6.3. Legal. Sweet Readers will reveal your Personally Identifiable Information, to the extent we reasonably believe we are required to do so by law. If we receive legal process calling for the disclosure of your Personally Identifiable Information we will attempt to notify you via the email address you supplied during registration within a reasonable amount of time before we respond to the request, unless such notification is not permitted.
6.4. Transfer of Services. Sweet Readers shall be entitled to transfer to a third party information it collects, including any Personally Identifiable Information, in connection with a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of Sweet Readers, provided the acquiring third party has agreed to safeguard your Personally Identifiable Information with protections that in all material respects are the same as or more protective than those set out in this Privacy Policy.
7. Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out.
7.1. Discretionary Account Information. To allow appropriate control over Personally Identifiable Information, you can access your account (after supplying your user name and password) to change or update discretionary information that you have previously submitted.
7.2. Opt-Out. If we choose to send to you bulletins, updates, or other unsolicited communications that are marketing-related materials, we will provide you with the ability to decline — or “opt-out of” – receiving such communications. Instructions for opting-out will be provided if and when we determine to send you such a communication. Please understand that you will not be allowed to “opt-out” of formal notices concerning operation of this Website, or legal and other related notices concerning your relationship to the Website.
7.3. Deleting Information. . Finally, if you request, we will remove your name and all other Personally Identifiable Information from our databases. Please understand, however, that it may be impossible to remove this information completely, due to backups and records of deletions. In addition, please understand that, if you request deletion of your information, you will be unable to utilize associated features of the Website and any associated Services. You may not remove de-identified, anonymous, or aggregate data from our databases.
8. Security. We have put in place security systems designed to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information you provide to us, and we take all reasonable steps to secure and safeguard this Information. Our password-protected Website requires Registered Users to give us unique identifiers such as their user name and password. Sweet Readers employees are required to acknowledge that they understand and will abide by our policies with respect to the confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information. Additionally, we ensure that Sweet Readers Vendors’ security policies are at least as protective of your information as our policy. Moreover, we provide access to our databases containing Personally Identifiable Information on a need-to-know basis only.
Our security systems are therefore structured to deter and prevent hackers and others from accessing information you provide to us. We also use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Please understand, though, that this information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided by or submitted to Sweet Readers. Due to the nature of Internet communications and evolving technologies, we cannot provide, and disclaim, assurance that the information you provide us will remain free from loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties who, despite our efforts, obtain unauthorized access.
9. Notice of Security Incident. If we detect, despite the safeguards set out above, an intrusion or other unauthorized access to or use of Personally Identifiable Information (an “Intrusion”), we will (i) notify effected users of the Intrusion if the information at issue is sensitive, in our discretion, (ii) deliver this notice by the means we deem most efficient under the circumstances (such as, for example, first class mail or email); (iii) use contact information for each effected user that is current in our files; and (iv) use commercially reasonable efforts to accomplish these steps and effect this notice in a timely manner. To the extent applicable law requires steps in addition to those specified above, we will under all circumstances comply with applicable law.
10. Participation by Children and Teens; Advisory. Due to federal law (as reflected in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), WE DO NOT ALLOW INDIVIDUALS WHO WE KNOW ARE UNDER 13 TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR WEBSITE OR SERVICES. YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 13 YEARS OLD TO USE OUR WEBSITE AND SERVICES. IF YOU ARE BETWEEN 13 AND THE APPLICABLE AGE OF MAJORITY, PLEASE REVIEW THIS AGREEMENT WITH YOUR PARENT OR GUARDIAN. Please understand that we cannot necessarily tell if a user is providing us with his or her true age.
11. Notice to California Residents. If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information regarding the disclosure of your personal information by Sweet Readers to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. As described above, we do not disclose users’ personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes. Nevertheless, if you wish to make such a request, please send an email to or write us at:
Attention: Karen Young
Email: Karen@sweetreaders.org
Mail: 127 West 83rd Street, POB #418, New York, New York 10024
12. Do Not Track Notice. Certain web browsers allow consumers to enable “do not track” signals through which a consumer can signal to websites and online services whether the consumer approves of the collection of personally identifiable information about its online activities over time and across third-party websites and online services. Sweet Readers Website does not respond to “do not track” signals.
13. Notification of Changes. From time to time, Sweet Readers may change its Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes regarding our use or disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information to third parties, we will attempt to contact you prior to the date the modified policy is scheduled to take effect. We will post notice of the new Policy from the privacy link on our Website. With respect to Registered Users, no such changes will take effect unless and until you have provided us with your consent to such changes, in accordance with Section 2.2, above. With respect to Site Visitors, such changes will take effect the next time you visit our Website.
14. Relationship to Terms of Use and Other Contracts. This Privacy Policy must be read in conjunction with our Terms of Use, and the provisions of our Terms of Use are incorporated herein. To the extent the Terms of Use conflict with the terms of this Privacy Policy, the terms of this Privacy Policy will control.
15. Further Resources. If you wish further information concerning privacy policies in general, you should visit the following site:
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html
16. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of Sweet Readers, or your dealings with the Website, please contact us at:
You may contact us, for any reason, by e-mail as follows:
privacy@sweetreaders.org
17. Effective Date
The effective date of this Privacy Policy is November 27, 2017.
