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Six years ago, Sue Resnick and Liz Frankel started the Cottage Kids Read program at the Pleasantville Cottage School. While volunteering at the school they noticed something that struck them. There weren’t any books for pleasure in the cottages where the students lived.

Located in Pleasantville, NY, the residential treatment facility serves kids who have been neglected, abused, or whose families are unable to care for them.

Sue and Liz knew books could be a solace for kids who may lack a source of calm in their daily lives. Reading stories or poems that interest them could open up new worlds. After they identified the issue, Sue and Liz went to the school’s Therapeutic Arts Director, Dee Hanbury, to find a solution.

Three years ago Dee, Sue and Liz discovered First Book campaigns. Since then, volunteers and staff have had great success raising the money they need to purchase books through First Book. They’ve used First Book campaigns to not only fill the cottages with books, but to expose kids to new ideas and help them dream big.

Now, when kids see Sue and Liz on campus, they ask for books by name. The kids have their favorite authors. Liz and Sue have created a culture of reading that not only helps kids grow, but has therapeutic benefits as some work through complex emotional challenges.

“They say that reading gives them an escape when they need to get away from bad memories or from their peers to get some space,” says Dee.

The volunteers and staff see the impact books have on kids’ lives — it’s why they work tirelessly to raise more money each year. And with First Book campaigns, their work can go even further.

Start your work today.

The post One Campaign. A Lasting Culture of Reading. appeared first on First Book Blog.

Judy Willner is an educator and writing skills teacher for elementary school students in Philadelphia. When she lost her closest friend Cathy earlier this year, Judy decided the best way to honor her would be to set up a First Book campaign. She wanted to celebrate their shared love of reading and children.

Judy wanted to share Cathy’s story in her own words:

Dear Reader,

June 29 would have been my Cathy’s 60^th birthday. I had already started planning for it this time last year. We did that kind of stuff for each other – big parties, cards sent sixty days in advance.

Cathy was my best friend. We met in middle school, survived high school as nerdy late-bloomers, and traversed around Mexico together after graduation. I remember how the “older folks” who shared our tour bus loved her so much, how her smile and charm were infectious.

She was a reader, a card-sender, the queen of Facebook, and above all else, the most generous and kind-hearted person anyone could ever hope to be their best friend. I am so happy that for forty-five years I was privileged enough to call Cathy my best friend.

To celebrate and honor Cathy I decided to create a First Book Campaign in her name.

Cathy never had children of her own, but children had a very special place in her heart. Getting books to kids in her hometown of Philadelphia would have sent her over the moon. There would have been pictures all over Facebook of kids with their books!

Now, more than 500 books are going to be put in the hands of students in my classes and other classes across Philadelphia.

Cathy did that. And you can too.

Here’s to Cathy,

Judy Willner
Teacher and Book Lover
Philadelphia, PA

The post Cathy Was My Best Friend. Here’s How I Honored Her. appeared first on First Book Blog.

Since Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast last fall, First Book has been working to help local schools, community programs and families rebuild their lost libraries.

Now, thanks to our friends at Random House, we have the resources to rebuild tens of thousands of home and classroom libraries: over one million brand-new, high-quality kid’s books.

We just need to get the word out.

Help us by sharing this blog post with anyone you know who works with children in need, and tell them to sign up with First Book today.

Recognizing the wide-ranging impact of this storm on many aspects of children’s lives, schools and programs do not have to have been physically damaged by the storm to apply for books. Any school or program that was affected by the storm or serves children in need in one of the 13 affected states is encouraged to sign up to receive books.

NOTE: The books are available to schools and programs in the 13 states designated by FEMA as being affected by Hurricane Sandy: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

The post One Million Books Available Now for Schools and Programs in States Affected by Hurricane Sandy appeared first on First Book Blog.

Last year First Book made it a goal to reach more kids in need by doubling the number of local schools and community programs in our national network, from 25,000 to 50,000.

We’ve reached that number! Over 50,000 Title I classrooms, early childhood education programs, afterschool programs, museums and libraries, housing authorities, faith-based organizations, military family support programs, health clinics and others are signed up with First Book, and every one of them now has permanent, ongoing access to a steady stream of brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources.

That’s terrific news, and we’re grateful to all the partners and supporters that helped us get there.

But we’re not knocking off work just yet. There are 30 million children in the United States living in low-income homes, and access to books is scarce for far too many of them. There are over 1.3 million programs and classrooms still waiting for us, and we need to reach them all.

Help make that happen! If you know someone who works with kids from low-income families, tell them about First Book. Forward them this blog post, or send them to our website, where they can sign up.

It’s quick, it’s free, and we have brand-new books just waiting for them.

Chandler Arnold, First Book’s executive vice-president, with a student from Belmont Runyon Elementary school in Newark, NJ, at a ‘Read Across America’ event last year.

Read Across America Day is fast approaching; on March 1, children across the country will celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading ‘The Cat in the Hat’ and other childhood favorites.

But, as much as we love Dr. Seuss, the READING part is the important bit. At First Book, we will always line up for cake and ice cream, but books and reading come first. Because kids who read at home become stronger, more capable readers, and that’s the critical ingredient in become successful — in school and in life.

‘Read Across America’ is an annual event sponsored by our friends at the National Education Association (NEA). First Book is proud to do our part for such a critical issue.

Here’s what you can do:

• If you work with kids from low-income families, sign your program or classroom up with First Book. We can help you get new, high-quality books, including (naturally) ‘The Cat in the Hat’ and other Dr. Seuss favorites.
• If your program is already signed up with First Book, visit the First Book Marketplace to get some great Dr. Seuss titles for your kids.
• Take the NEA’s ‘Read Across America’ pledge.

And most importantly of all, take the time to read to a child in your life. You’ll both be glad you did.

At First Book, we do everything in our power to make sure that kids from low-income families are getting the books they need. So we don’t just drop a box of used books off at the door. We work hard to make sure we offer Newbery and Caldecott winners, popular titles, books that kids want to read. The books are always brand-new, and we let the educators closest to the children make the decisions about which titles their kids will respond to.

But all too often, kids from low-income neighborhoods — if they have books at all — have books with characters and stories that aren’t relevant to their lives. And that makes it harder to turn them on to reading.

So today we’re taking another big step to make sure we’re doing everything we can to turn those kids into readers. We’ve reached out to our friends in the publishing industry with an extraordinary offer.

As the centerpiece of our new OMG Books (Offering More Great Books) initiative, we’re stepping up with $500,000 to purchase hundreds of thousands of new books featuring voices that are rarely represented in children’s literature: minorities, characters of color, and others whose experiences resonate with the children we serve, characters and stories that are relevant to their lives.

We already work closely with leading publishers to provide new books for teachers and program leaders serving children in need. Last year we purchased three million new books from major publishers, which we made available – at significant discounts – to the 50,000 schools and programs in our national network, through the First Book Marketplace.

At first, this approach seems unusual to some people. Why are we selling books to programs? Why aren’t we just giving them away?

Actually, we are giving books away — millions of them every year — through our National Book Bank program. But the First Book Marketplace is a different kinds of innovation.

Through the First Book Marketplace, we’re aggregating the buying power of tens of thousands of Title I classrooms, after-school programs, homeless shelters and others serving the most vulnerable children. Those classrooms and programs may not have the funds to go into a bookstore and buy books at retail prices, but when they come together through First Book, they represent a real market for the publishing industry. Which, in turn, benefits by reaching new customers they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.

This new initiative is a big deal, and we’re excited! The offer is out to every leading publisher, and we’re already getting back proposals. We’ll share more news as soon as we have it.

NOTE: If you work for a publisher, or are just interested in fine print, check out the request here. All proposals welcome!

* Click on the graphic to see a bigger, snazzier version.

Learn more about how First Book provides new books to kids in need, and how you can get involved, at firstbook.org.

The end of the year is approaching fast, and that means First Book gets lots of great, high-quality book donations from the many wonderful publishers we work with. Which is terrific; we love books. But when we have this many new books, we need some help getting the word out.

There are a lot of people working with a lot of kids in our national network of 27,000 local schools and programs. But a million books is a LOT of books.

So we’d love to meet some more local schools and programs. If you know a teacher or program leader who works with kids from low-income families, tell them about First Book! You can send them to firstbook.org, or just forward this blog post.

All they have to do is sign up (it’s free, online and only takes a few minutes) and they can apply for all kinds of great books for their kids. Free! (Well, not completely free. There is a 35 cent shipping and handling cost per book, but we try to move these distributions around the country as much as possible so programs who can’t even afford that minimal cost can avoid it by picking up the books in person. Between now and the end of the year, we’ll be visiting Nashville, St. Joseph, Mo., St. Louis, and Casa Grande, Ariz.)

What’s the catch, you ask? THERE IS NO CATCH. First Book is a nonprofit with the mission of getting new books to kids that need them. This is our thing.

To recap:

• Books.
• Lots of them.
• There is no catch.
• Sign up today at firstbook.org.

Click here to learn more about First Book and our National Book Bank program.

Today is not only the official first day of summer, it’s also National Summer Learning Day. First Book couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than by bringing 150,000 brand-new books to the National Mall to stuff into backpacks going to children in need all over the country.

The nation’s capitol is having a stretch of lovely weather this week, so our staff is joining the United Way and their army of volunteers to make this happen.

Summer is a great time of the year for readers. Instead of reading what you were told to read, you get to read whatever you want. And, if you’re lucky, you get to sit on the beach, reading and getting sunburned.

But for lots of kids, summer isn’t a time for reading. And that’s not so great, because there is a very real drop-off in achievement for kids from low-income homes. This gap puts them even further behind their more fortunate classmates, leading directly to lower test scores, lower rates of graduation and lower chances of going to college or finding good jobs.

But you can help turn it around! Visit our friends at the National Summer Learning Association to find out ways to help kids in your life, and if there’s a school or community program near you that serves kids from low-income neighborhoods, reach out to a librarian, reading teacher or program leader and tell them about First Book. Once they register with us, we can ensure they have a steady stream of new books, this summer and throughout the year.