The holidays are fast approaching. You and your family can make them a bit brighter for kids in need. Choose from four great ways to get your family excited and engaged in helping others.
1. Read eBooks for free as a family on www.wegivebooks.org. For every book you read online, a brand new book will be provided to a child in need.
2. Encourage your kids to donate their allowance in November and December to First Book or a cause of their choice. Help them understand that not all kids will have presents to open this holiday season.
3. Host a Virtual Book Drive and invite others to join you. Every $2.50 raised can provide a book to a child in need.
4. Together with your kids, select an item from the First Book Gift Catalog to give to a loved one for the holidays.
The post Four Ways to Encourage the Spirit of Giving appeared first on First Book Blog.
Wendy Moore’s best friends couldn’t wait to give her a special surprise for her 50th birthday. To honor her great love for books, they set up a virtual book drive with First Book and collectively raised over $1200 to purchase brand-new books for kids in Wendy’s hometown of Wilson, NC.
The need for books in Wilson County Schools is high. Located a little over an hour outside of Raleigh, the rural district ranks as Tier One community – a title reserved for the most distressed counties in the state. But Wilson residents like Wendy are committed to their children’s education.
Every year the county hosts a Back-to-School Fair, an event that celebrates education and equips kids with backpacks and school supplies for the upcoming school year.
Journey received one of the free copies of Where the Wild Things Are at the Wilson County Back-to-School Fair. She said the book is her favorite!
The event draws hundreds of the community’s neediest families, many lining up as early as 10 p.m. the night before the fair in order to receive school supplies.
At this year’s fair, Moore joined staff at the Wilson County Schools booth to distribute the books purchased through First Book with the funds raised by her friends. In less than 90 minutes, all 420 copies of her selected book Where the Wild Things Are were in the hands of excited students.
“Hopefully it will inspire at least one kid to dream and do things that go far,” said Moore.
In your hometown and across the nation, kids need books to foster a love of learning. Click here to find out more about hosting your own virtual book drive.
The post A Birthday Surprise: 420 Books for Kids appeared first on First Book Blog.
Taylor Felice, a dedicated supporter of First Book, recently ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. Not only did she accomplish the goal of running the race but she also accomplished something else – getting books into the hands of kids in need.
Taylor aimed to raise $1800 through First Book to provide 400 brand-new books to kids in need. She surpassed this goal and doubled it, raising $2,182.85 via a First Book virtual book drive. Due to Taylor’s tireless efforts, 873 brand-new books will be going into the hands of children in need.
Taylor Felice
First Book: What made you want to run a half-marathon? Are you typically a runner and/or participate in a lot of races?
Taylor: My brother’s girlfriend actually got me to run the half-marathon. She ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon last year and while I was standing at the finish line l became completely overwhelmed with emotion. I watched hundreds of runners in all shapes and sizes crossing and decided that if they could do it, I could too. Before this, I was more of a causal runner that did it for the exercise and had participated in a few short races prior to training for the half-marathon.
First Book: Out of all of the organizations you could have raised money for, why did you choose First Book?
Taylor: My mom and her best friend, Shelly, began participating in a reading program at a school in New Haven – when she went to the library to pick out books, the shelves were basically bare. After they got over the initial shock, they began reaching out to friends and family all over Connecticut to collect new and gently used books to help make the library a “happy” destination for the students.
Before my mom told me about the school, I’d never really thought about the availability of a book. We always hear about poverty and the difficulty of getting people nutritious food and sufficient clothing but you’d think within the walls of a child’s school he or she would have access to reading materials.
I was fortunate to go to an elementary school with a library full of books as far as the eye could see. I’ve always been interested in working with and helping children – and while attending Tulane University, I volunteered in the New Orleans public school system – one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. If I can give back to children in low-income housing like many of my former students and inspire them to continue for greatness, I’d consider this half-marathon and these fundraising efforts a success. When I started my research for an organization, I knew I wanted something in the children’s education sector and I decided on First Book because I love to read and after research, knew that the money I was asking family and friends for would truly make a difference.
First Book: In some of the nation’s lowest-income neighborhoods, there is only a single book for every 300 children. As someone who is passionate about reading, how does this make you feel?
Taylor: When I first saw this statistic, I was sad – that’s really the only way I can explain my initial response. After getting over the initial shock, I was disappointed – how could children be so far from the opportunity to read a book? How could I have been so naive to never have thought about the possibility that it would be so difficult for children to have the opportunity to turn a page in a fairytale? I know how much I appreciate and enjoy a good book and I hope that some of these children that may struggle in low-income neighborhoods can find an escape inside one of the books that they receive from First Book.
First Book: Why do you think it’s so important for children to have access to brand-new books?
Taylor: When you’re a child, something shiny and new is a source of pride – its yours and yours alone and it becomes a part of your identity. Whether it’s a toy, a new piece of clothing or in this case a book, donating something new to a child, instantly becomes special. I think it’s important for children to have books because it inspires imagination and sparks their creativity; as an adult, I still love to read and let my imagination wander along with the characters.
First Book: Thanks to your outstanding efforts, at least 873 brand-new books will be going into the hands of children in need. (That number is of course still increasing by the day!) How does it make you feel to know that you are making such a huge impact?
Taylor: At first I was proud that I’d made the decision to support a nonprofit – and then I was a little hesitant to start asking people for money. Once the money started coming in and I beat both my first and revised goals, I was humbled by the outpouring of generosity from friends and family. Seeing the number of books is great but thinking about making 873 children smile is better than anything.
First Book: What has prompted you to be so involved with volunteerism? Did someone in your family emphasize the importance of reading?
Taylor: My family has been involved with charities and volunteer work for as long as I can remember – it’s part of who we are. My parents read to my brother and me a lot and my grandfather used to tell us that he didn’t care what we read as long as we read something. They all knew how important books were to our education and development.
To get brand-new books into the hands of kids in need like Taylor did, visit www.firstbook.org and start your very own virtual book drive today.
The post Taylor Felice: How I Ran a Half Marathon to Bring Books to Kids in Need appeared first on First Book Blog.
On Saturday, volunteers from across the country joined First Book on the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate President Obama’s National Day of Service by providing 15,000 brand-new books to DC-area children from low-income families.
Click here to see photos of the event, including pictures of volunteers, political leaders, and even a few celebrities.
First Book was one of seven nonprofits featured at the event, highlighting the idea of community service in such areas as education, the environment and support for military families.
??Each volunteer packed two books into a bag, and decorated bookplates with personal messages.
The books, including “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport, were provided thanks to the generous support of our friends at KPMG, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, through its KPMG’s Family for Literacy program.
The bags will be distributed in the coming days to students throughout DC, thanks to First Book’s partnership with the American Federation of Teachers.
Even if you weren’t able to join us on the National Mall, you can still bring new books to kids in need. Click here to donate to our National Day of Service Virtual Book Drive. Every $2.50 provides one new books to a child in need.
Today’s guest blog post is an excerpt from avid reader, Jacquelyn Adams. She is currently in medical school where she is pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. Education has always been an important issue for Jacquelyn. She lends her support to this issue by raising money for First Book through a virtual book drive in which she created for her love of reading.
Reading has been an enormous part of my life for as long as I can remember. I used to get sent to the principal’s office in third grade for leaving my desk to hide in the corner of the room and finish my latest Box Car Children Mystery. Without the novels of my childhood, I have no idea what my life would be like. I grew up in a world of stories, adventures, romances, and mythical creatures. It is why I am who I am today.
Last semester, I heard a story that brought me to tears. One of the surgeons I was shadowing was talking about a story he saw online. It was about a program called First Book that had come to southern West Virginia and was helping provide books to children in need. He said that over half of the middle schoolers in that area had never owned their own book. I was blown away.
By seventh grade, I had multiple bookshelves filled to the brim and more overdue library books than a thesis student. How could a seventh grader not far from my front door not own a single book? I asked him as much, and he said “That is why you are in medical school and they are struggling to graduate high school.”
Every time I think about this conversation, I feel guilt and determination. Every child deserves the joy of reading. Every child deserves the chance to live in a world of stories, adventures, romances, and mythical creatures. Every child deserves his or her own first book. That is why I am starting this fundraising page. I hope you all can help, and I hope you will choose to get involved with First Book.
Jacquelyn aimed to raise $200 through a virtual book drive and has already succeeded in reaching her goal. Just like Jacquelyn, you or anyone you know can create a virtual book drive to support First Book in an effort to get books to children in need.
