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It’s been over 10 years since Mr. Wilbert Scott and Cashadell Lewis first met, but both remember it like it was yesterday.

“My name is Cashadell, but you can call me Cash,” said Lewis.

“You call me Mr. Scott. And I will call you Cashadell Lewis,” Mr. Scott replied.

“When I first saw Mr. Scott, I knew he didn’t play,” recalls Cashadell. “And even though I didn’t want it at the time, I knew I needed someone like him.”

Mr. Scott had been paired with Cashadell as a Power Lunch reading mentor with Everybody Wins! Atlanta. The program, now in its 18^th year, pairs volunteer reading mentors from local businesses and community organizations with first through fifth grade students identified by their teachers as reading below their grade level. Nearly 90 percent of the 550 students who currently participate in the Power Lunch program live in poverty. Many have no books at home.

Every Thursday, Mr. Scott visited Hope-Hill Elementary School to read aloud with Cashadell over the lunch hour. As weeks turned into years, Cashadell grew into a stronger reader and developed a special bond with Mr. Scott.

Now a mentor and a friend, Mr. Scott sees Cashadell graduating from college and returning to Hope-Hill Elementary as a mentor himself. And when he does, First Book will be there to support him.

Since June 2011, First Book has provided Everybody Wins! Atlanta with 10,126 books. The books are used to stock book carts, which hold hundreds of books for reading pairs to choose from, at the 11 schools that participate in the Power Lunch program.  Each Power Lunch student also receives at least three new books to take home every year.

Last year, students got to take home even more books, thanks to our friends at dd’s DISCOUNTS. The local dd’s DISCOUNTS store raised funds to help provide over 700 brand-new books to Everybody Wins! Atlanta.

Help more kids more kids like Cashadell read, learn and succeed. Join dd’s DISCOUNTS in providing new books to outstanding programs like Everybody Wins! Atlanta by making a gift to First Book today.

The post Once a Mentor, Forever a Friend appeared first on First Book Blog.

To kick-off First Book’s new charitable partnership with the world’s largest pretzel company Auntie Anne’s, First Book staff attended the 15^th Annual Auntie Anne’s C.A.R.E.S. Benefit Golf Tournament on Monday, July 12^th.  The tournament, hosted in Hershey, Pennsylvania by the Auntie Anne’s C.A.R.E.S. Committee (Community Action Requires Employee Support) , benefitted First Book as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster and Christ’s Home for Children (Lancaster County).

More than 300 participants, consisting of vendors, suppliers, employees, and friends of Auntie Anne’s, teed off at the Hershey Country Club and Hershey Links Monday afternoon.  First Book staff enjoyed the opportunity to spend the day talking and sharing their mission with the C.A.R.E.S. Committee and their terrific colleagues.  Unfortunately, as the afternoon rolled on, the clouds rolled in.  But while the greens may have been dampened, spirits were not, and the good times continued that evening at dinner.  The dinner celebrated Auntie Anne’s ongoing dedication to community giving.

During dinner, Auntie Anne’s presented First Book with a generous gift of $32,500.  An additional $32,500 was split between the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster and Christ’s Home for Children.  First Book President, Kyle Zimmer, was on hand to accept the check.  Graciously thanking Auntie Anne’s and the attendees for their generosity, she explained that through their support First Book will be able to provide new books to more children in Pennsylvania’s highest need communities.

Stefanie Stamatopoulos, CARES Committee Chair; Sam Gershenfeld, The Coca-Cola Company; Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO of First Book; William P. Dunn, Jr., President & COO, Auntie Anne's, Inc.; Sam Beiler, Chairman & CEO, Auntie Anne's, Inc.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Auntie Anne’s for hosting this exciting event.  We appreciate their enthusiasm for supporting First Book and promoting literacy in communities across the country.  First Book looks forward to growing this promising partnership.