How to use this Page

Like a visit to Build-A-Bear Workshop®, reading books starts you on a lifetime journey of experiences, memories and all the fun stuff inside that friends love to share.

For this reason, Build-A-Bear Workshop is proud to support the efforts of First Book to introduce kids to the wonderfully imaginative adventure of reading.  For every purchase of a Build-A-Bear Workshop new furry friend, Turner Owl™ Build-A-Bear Workshop will donate 50¢ to First Book to provide new books to children from low-income families and 50¢ to the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation to support other literacy and education programs.

Turner Owl is available in all Build-A-Bear Workshop stores and on the web at buildabear.com®.

There is just one month left to cast your vote for First Book in the Members Project! With your help, we can win the most votes in the Education category by August 22 and earn $200,000 – enough funding to provide 100,000 new books to children in low-income communities nationwide.

In order to vote, please visit register here. After you are registered, you can vote once per week here. Your weekly vote can help us add 100,000 new books to the 70 million that we have distributed since 1992. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your support!

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.

Exciting news! First Book has been selected to be one of 50 nonprofits showcased in this year’s Members Project from American Express and TakePart.  If First Book can win the most votes in the Education category between now and August 22, we will win $200,000 – enough funding to provide 100,000 new books to children in low-income communities throughout the U.S.

Since 1992, we have distributed more than 70 million books to children in need. By casting a weekly vote for First Book, you can help us provide 100,000 more books to kids who need them most around the nation.

In order to vote, please visit register here. After you are registered, you can vote once per week here. What are you waiting for? Cast your vote now!

It’s easy to get up in the morning and go to work at First Book.  I work with a fantastic group of people and I spend most of my day collaborating with amazing nonprofits and government agencies, which in turn leads to connecting their programs and classrooms to First Book’s resources.  It’s a win-win. But last Tuesday was not a regular day at the office. I got up bright and early, stood in front of my closet and asked myself, “What do I wear when First Lady Michelle Obama is going to be in the room?”  We all know she’s a fashion icon and well – my sister claims I am not.  I decided to take the secret service approach and put on the good old black suit.  I knew First Book’s stylish Executive Vice President, Chandler Arnold who was going with me would be looking handsome in his shiny suit and I didn’t want to be totally upstaged. I even ironed my blouse.  My sister would be proud.  You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about my wardrobe and why I would be hanging with the First Lady on a Tuesday. Well…

First Lady Michelle Obama and the Corporation for National and Community Service had an event at a DC recreational center to launch United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. This initiative will get more Americans volunteering to combat childhood obesity and summer learning loss among youth. At the event, volunteers packed Healthy Lifestyle Kits as part of the initiative that included activity equipment, healthy snacks, and new books donated by First Book’s publishing partners Random House Children’s Book and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. The kits are being distributed to 3,000 children in D.C.

I did manage to blend in with the secret service, which naturally just made me want to talk into my sleeve. I refrained. The secret service look did help me move around the room to lend a helping hand to stuff bags, move boxes and run around as if it was my event for a couple of hours. I had a great time working with Congressional leaders and Americorp members.  I even got to hug Congressman John Lewis.  I did not hug the First Lady.  My secret service friends would not have been happy with me.  The First Lady even joined in the fun and was stuffing bags herself.  I guess the First Lady got a memo that it was casual Tuesday, because she looked like she walked out of a J Crew catalog.  I guess we don’t get the same memos, because as you know I was off to the side blending in, working hard in my black suit.

You might not get to stuff kits with the First Lady in a suit, but there’s a lot that you can do to promote this initiative.  Click here to learn more about Let’s Read. Let’s Move.

Last week, volunteers from Barclays Wealth and Barclays Capital surprised students at Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School in Miami, Florida with a donation of 2,000 brand new books. The volunteers shared a very special afternoon of reading with the first-grade students of Southside; children crowded around their Barclays visitors, anxiously waiting to hear new stories and lobbying for the chance to be the next reader. After reading Bunny Money and The Berenstain Bears Lend a Helping Hand with the Barclays volunteers, students took home their very own copies of each title to read independently, share with siblings and friends or have the stories read to them again.

As part of a new partnership with Barclays Wealth, First Book will donate 2,000 new books to Southside Elementary for its children as well as its school and classroom libraries, where current and future students will enjoy them for years to come. In 2010, Barclays Wealth and First Book will distribute 10,000 brand new books in communities where Barclays employees work and live. We are proud to work with Barclays as the company follows it philosophy of banking on brighter futures, looking after local communities and supporting charity at work.

Bess the Book Bus started her second annual nationwide outreach last week. The first week took us through the Florida Panhandle where we were able to give brand new books to over 200 children.

On Wednesday, our trip brought us to our first large city, the Big Easy. Not that much has been easy for the people of New Orleans lately. First Katrina, now the BP fiasco. Of course, the people of this great city have not let any of it suppress their spirit any. In fact, they seem even more committed and determined after the hardships that they have faced. 

Driving through the Ninth and Lower Ninth Wards we see so many people in their yards- painting fences, mowing lawns, repairing their houses or perhaps helping neighbors rebuild. Vacant buildings sport signs imploring us to “READ”. There are still a lot of vacant buildings and a lot of devastation, but it is getting better.  The  READ signs are on light posts and storefronts as well.  Bright colors are finding their way back to this neighborhood too.

Our first stop is the Lower Ninth Ward Village www.lower9thwardvillage.org , a community center built by Mack McClendon to give the kids here a safe place to go after school.  It is a vibrant green building with an array of pastel accents. A hopeful sign welcomes us inside. We are here to help with their library.  We have 933 books to deliver and Mack is on the way to meet us. While we wait, a neighbor who is painting her house next door greets us and asks how she can help. This is Dee, a long-time resident determined to see her community thrive. So determined in fact that she gives us a tour of the home she just restored. While doing so she also gives us a history of this neighborhood as she knows and loves it.  She also shares her vision of what it will become for her kids and grandkids. She assures us that it will be better than ever. I believe her. Then she offers to volunteer with Bess the Book Bus on Friday. She knows two schools that need us. She wants to go too. She says that through reading, kids will be able to see what the world holds. They deserve that. And they deserve their own books.  After, we visit the schools she will feed us and show us the rest of this community. We gratefully accept.

It is time for dinner, so we head to Coops Place. While there, the reason for our visit comes up in conversation. Incredibly, the people sharing our table- strangers until now- start an impromptu fundraiser for Bess.  Darren and Dave start circling the restaurant with Joanie’s motorcycle helmet in hand- a business card sticking from the brim. The servers and bartender give $1. Several customers do too. Within ten minutes we have $18, which will be a great help on this trip. More importantly, the whole place is buzzing with excitement about what we are doing here. People are now chatting about their favorite books. Kids books. Curious George, Judy Blume, Dr. Seuss, Charlotte’s Web, and Shel Silverstien are all discussed enthusiastically.  Suddenly, this place is a community of readers. Full and happy, we start the walk back to the hotel. Coop’s has gigantic portions, so we have a sizable to go box.

En route, a young man looking to be 18 or so, almost certainly living on these very streets, offers to play us a song on his guitar for our leftovers. We gladly accept. Chad plays us a song, and then my sister Jill plays him one. He asks what we are doing in the city. He is very excited to hear of the trip and Bess’ mission. He expresses his love of books, especially the classics. He says his friends love books too, but they do not have any and they cannot get them from the library. The look on his face when I promise to bring him a box of books the next day is priceless.  He quickly follows it with a hug and promises to call

Since its launch in 1997, the Space Day educational initiative, which takes place on the first Friday of each May, has evolved into a massive grassroots effort dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits and opportunities in the exploration and use of space.

International in scope, the award-winning program involves hundreds of thousands of teachers and millions of students throughout the United States, and beyond. The ultimate goal is to promote math, science, technology and engineering education by nurturing young peoples’ enthusiasm for the wonders of the universe and inspiring them to continue the stellar work of today’s space explorers.

If you haven’t already planned an event for space day, no need to worry because you can celebrate space at any time. This weekend in Washington DC, thousands of kids, parents and museum goers will enjoy Space Day Family Day activities including presentations from the crew of STS-119 and three former astronauts, a live conversation with the crew of the International Space Station and loads of hands-on educational activities hosted by Lockheed Martin, NASA, and the National Air and Space Museum.

If you have students that are interested in space, look through the following space themed books on the First Book Marketplace and help students learn more about science, space innovations and amazing photography. Additional activities to help enhance learning include having  a star party or visiting NASA’s website to see when the International Space Station may fly over your city. I was lucky enough to view the space station last week and although it goes by pretty quickly, it’s still cool to see!

Space Day and the Space Day logo are registered as service marks and should be used according to the guidelines provided by Lockheed Martin.

When 25 volunteers from Barclays Capital arrived at North Star Academy Elementary in Newark last Tuesday to share their love of reading with elementary students, little did they know that those students, in return, would share their own fiery passion for learning and their courage to succeed.

As the “Morning Circle” routine began, kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade students chanted about their classroom pride and enthusiasm for math. Next, the Emory Eagles of second grade performed an incredible original song about matter (their current unit of study in science). When the students were finally introduced to the Barclays Capital “superheroes,” who had arrived to read brand new books with them, their young faces lit up with excitement. The scholars of North Star Academy have an unmatched love for reading, and the donation of new books, such as Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells and Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, from Barclays Capital allows these students to take home and enjoy their very own books.

In partnership with First Book, Barclays Capital has donated a total of 4,000 new books to North Star Academy this year. All of the school’s campuses are receiving these resources, which will help North Star continue to pursue its mission of closing the achievement gap. Here at First Book, we are proud to partner with Barclays Capital and North Star—two fantastic organizations that are dedicated to creating bright futures for all children.

National Volunteer Week, a signature event of Points of Light Institute, celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation from April 18th to April 24th.

Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the Volunteer Generation Fund, the theme — Celebrating People in Action — honors individuals who take action and solve significant problems in their communities.

With that said, we would like to honor First Book local heroes! To the thousands of volunteers serving on Advisory Boards across the country and volunteers who lend us their time at First Book National Book Bank distributions – on behalf of all of the children we serve, THANK YOU!

If you would like to join or start a First Book Advisory Board in your community, please see the In Your Community section of the First Book Web site.

Mary Pope Osborne reads to New Orleans school children.

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the popular children’s book series, Magic Tree House, and Random House Children’s Books teamed up with First Book to provide 4,000 books to children in need in 27 Recovery School District schools in New Orleans this month. On April 19th and 20th, Osborne visited with and read to children from six of the schools that received books. She also spoke about her enthusiasm for working with First Book and her inspiration for writing on WWLTV Eyewitness Morning News.

Ms. Osborne said, “Working with First Book in New Orleans was an inspiring adventure. Together we visited a number of schools and put new books into the hands of young readers. Our shared belief is that reading provides the path toward greater possibilities for the future — and every child deserves the opportunity to set out on the journey.”

Will Osborne, Marlene Pete (Treasurer, First Book-Greater New Orleans), Lynetta Rhodes (Co-Chair, First Book-Greater New Orleans) and Kyle Zimmer (President and CEO, First Book) cheer Mary Pope Osborne as she accepts a proclamation from the mayor in her honor.

Ms. Osborne donated new copies of Magic Tree House #42: A Good Night for Ghosts, in which Magic Tree House characters Jack and Annie travel back in time to meet a young boy named Louis Armstrong and encourage him to share his gift of music with the world.

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the wildly popular Magic Tree House series, and Random House Children’s Books are teaming up with First Book to provide 4,000 books to children in 27 Recovery District schools in New Orleans. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, Ms. Osborne will personally visit with and read to children from six of the schools that are receiving books.

In anticipation of the New Orleans Jazz Festival that begins later that week, Ms. Osborne and Random House will be donating new copies of Magic Tree House #42: A Good Night for Ghosts, in which Magic Tree House characters Jack and Annie travel back in time to meet a young unknown boy named Louis Armstrong and encourage him to share his gift of music with the world.

Mary Pope Osborne said, “When my husband Will and I visited New Orleans shortly after Katrina, we were tremendously moved and inspired by the spirit of the city and its people. New Orleans has always been one of our favorite cities in the world, and on that trip we promised all the kids we met that Jack and Annie would soon visit New Orleans in the Magic Tree House and have an adventure with a young Louis Armstrong. We are now very happy to share that adventure—and the magic of reading—with them.”

Check back next week to hear from Mary Pope Osborne herself!

Volunteers from Barclays Capital continued to give books and spread joy to students in the New York City metropolitan area last week. As part of their Investing in Bright Futures program, Barclays Capital volunteers visited PAVE Academy in Brooklyn, New York and announced that they would donate 2,000 brand new books to the school.  On Tuesday, volunteers brought copies of Bunny Money, by Rosemary Wells, and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, by Marjorie Priceman, to read with PAVE’s first-grade students. At the end of the day, the first-graders were thrilled to take home their very own copies of both books!

In 2010, Barclays Capital will donate more than 30,000 new books to children from low-income populations throughout the United States. We are proud to work with Barclays to provide financial literacy materials and educational resources to children in need, as well as invest in the bright future of our next generation of leaders.

The Portland and Lake Oswego-Dunthorpe Alumnae Clubs held an exciting Speed Read event just before the Portland Trail Blazers game in Portland, Oregon February 9, 2010.  Competing in the Speed Read event were a celebrity participant, former Trail Blazers player Jerome Kersey, a Pi Phi alumna, and two Oregon Gamma collegians.  Cat In the Hat, played by Missy Gerber the Co-President of the Lake Oswego-Dunthorpe Alumnae Club, led the cheerleading effort for the crowd.  Approximately 150 Pi Phis and their families and friends were in attendance to promote literacy and catch a Trail Blazers game in the same evening.  The crowd was energized by the Pi Phis’ enthusiasm for their important cause and attendees at the game were certainly able to see many local Pi Beta members making a difference in their community.

Oregon Alpha Ashley O’Hollaren is the Account Sales Manager for the Portland Trailblazers and was instrumental in the success of this event for the local alumnae clubs and collegians.  Pi Beta Phi would like to thank the Portland Trail Blazers for its generous donation of $5 per ticket sold at the February 9th game to our partner, First Book.  A total donation of $750 will be given to First Book by the Portland Trail Blazers on behalf of the Portland Alumnae Club and Lake-Oswego Dunthorpe Alumnae Club.  Individuals in this community are also continuing to make donations at www.firstbook.org/trailblazers.

Thanks to the Cheerios® Read-A-Thon, now when you read together with your child, you can help provide a new book to a child in need. Through the Read-A-Thon, Cheerios is encouraging individuals to pledge to read to your kids for at least 15 minutes a day by today, March 15th.

If they reach their goal of 6 million reading moments pledged by the end of the day, Cheerios will donate 250,000 books to First Book to benefit the kids who need them most.

Visit Cheerios on Facebook and select “Get Started” to make your pledge today!

Guest blogger Yury Polnar is the Marketing Acquisitions Manager at Demand Media, an online community of freelance writers and copy editors that creates informative articles for popular websites like LIVESTRONG.com, eHow.com and many others.

Last December, more than 4,000 Demand Media freelance writers and copy editors put their fingers to keyboards around the country and kept busy writing for a cause. For every eight articles created that month, Demand Media agreed to donate one book to a child in need. And in the span of just one month, this talented and passionate group of writers and editors created enough articles to put 16,072 brand new books in the hands of thousands of children across the country!

Today, I’m happy to announce a two-week return of the “Write for a Cause” program. In partnership with First Book, we hope to help rewrite the future for thousands of underprivileged kids and empower the next generation of writers, editors, business owners and space explorers to reach the stars through adequate access to literature and other educational resources.

For more information about First Book’s partnership with Demand Media and how you can help, please click here. And to monitor the progress of this campaign, please visit the Write for a Cause Facebook page.

First Book is excited to be one of 50 cause-related charities showcased in this year’s Members Project intiative from American Express and TakePart.  Participants to the site can vote once a week for a charity, and every three months, the charity that garners the most votes will win $200,000.

For First Book, this funding would provide 100,000 new books to kids living in high poverty communities throughout the U.S.

We applaud American Express and TakePart for taking corporate social responsibility to a new level.  Not only is the funding commitment important, but participants will be able to engage more fully with the featured causes.  After voting for First Book, TakePart.com’s social advocacy platform will allow you to connect with other like-minded participants online and find literacy-related volunteer opportunities in your community.   It’s corporate responsibility 2.0.

Please help First Book reach more kids with wonderful new books. Visit www.takepart.com/membersproject and cast your vote for First Book!