How to use this Page

As of this morning, YALSA is $205 away from reaching our end-of-the year fundraising goal of $1,000. If we hit our goal, a donor has agreed to match it with a $1,000 donation of their own! Please consider making a donation to Friends of YALSA, which supports $16,000 worth of grants, scholarships and awards each year for library staff. Donations can be made online, and details are here: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/give. Donations can also be made via text message. Simply, text ALA TEENALA to this number: 41518 to make a $10 donation to YALSA. Thank you for your support and have a wonderful new year!

When Melissa Deneen Shipp surprised each of her students with a new book of their very own, their reaction surprised her. “Normally this is the part when they maul me with hugs,” she said. “But instead they just stared. They literally couldn’t believe their eyes!”

She told her students, “Yes, YOU are the owner of that book!” Jumping up and down, her students shouted in reply, “This is mine, this is mine!” It was one of the best days Melissa has ever had as a teacher.

For over 20 years, teachers like Melissa and supporters like you have joined First Book to bring moments of joy, comfort and learning to millions of kids in need.

But there’s so much more to be done. Over 32 million kids in the U.S. live in poverty. In their homes, schools and communities, books are rare.

As our kids return to school this month, we invite you to support them – now, throughout the year and into the future.

How can you make a difference? Volunteer your time, tell educators in your community about First Book or donate to get books in the hands of children in need. Check out our 2014 Action Kit and discover the many ways you can get involved today.

First Book will provide 15 million books to kids in need this year and we believe we can meet this goal because of supporters like you. Take action today!

The post Take Action for Kids in Need appeared first on First Book Blog.

Lydia sat with her two children in the waiting room. Her eldest read aloud from his new book, pausing every now and again to teach his mother and younger sister how to say the words in English. His little sister beamed with pride when he let her turn the page.

Andrea Gatewood of the Nassau County (NY) Department of Health knows that providing new books to families like Lydia’s leads to priceless interactions. For the past ten years, she and her colleagues at the Nassau County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program have been giving books from First Book to the local low-income women and children they serve.

Traditionally, WIC programs supply women who are pregnant or recently gave birth and children up to age five found to be at nutritional risk with supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education. But at five WIC sites in Nassau County, families also receive colorful new books.

“The books from First Book teach children how to count, the alphabet, the importance of family, other languages, colors, different foods and incentives to promote physical activity,” said Andrea. “They strengthen family bonds, promote diversity and improve literacy.”

Andrea takes great care in selecting books that are both engaging and culturally relevant as nearly 100 percent of the children she serves come from minority households.

“We have distributed books at Christmas, Halloween and to kick off the school year. Our goal is to reach as many children as possible,” Andrea shared. “The partnership between First Book and WIC has allowed thousands of children to receive brand new books and will have a lasting impact on an individual and community level.”

Over the past ten years, the Nassau WIC Program has received approximately 20,000 books from First Book, thanks to grant funding made possible by members of the First Book – Long Island volunteer chapter and the Guru Krupa Foundation. The Foundation, based in Jericho, New York, funds initiatives related to education, health and basic sustenance of underprivileged children in India and the United States, and has helped First Book provide more than 51,000 books to children in need in the greater New York and Los Angeles areas in the past two years.

“We at Guru Krupa Foundation believe that education is a cornerstone for future success in life,” said Mukund Padmanabhan, president of the Guru Krupa Foundation. “Supporting initiatives that bring the benefits of education to underprivileged children can lead to enormous future dividends, not only for the children but to society.”

Join the Guru Krupa Foundation in supporting program leaders like Andrea by making a gift to First Book. Just $2.50 provides a brand-new book to a child in need.

The post Books Strengthen Family Bonds appeared first on First Book Blog.

We can all learn something from the selfless acts of children. Check out these five stories of kids helping kids in need get new books.

1. The Best Neighbor Ever.

Crestwood Intermediate School in Mantua, Ohio puts others first. The 3rd-5th graders raised over $1300 through a First Book Virtual Book Drive. They set out to raise this money not for themselves, but for a neighboring school in their community, David Hill Learning Center. Crestwood was determined to make sure that their friends at David Hill would have books to call their own.

2. The 10-Year-Old Entrepreneur. 

Malaika became a young social entrepreneur at the ripe age of 10-years-old. She wanted kids less fortunate than her to be able to enjoy books so she raised money through a book and lemonade stand and donated it all to First Book. She provided over 30 books to kids in need.

3.  The  Coin Collectors

Students at Union Elementary in Farmington, CT turned pockets full of change into a bucket full of change. That bucket ended up providing 160 brand-new books to children affected by Hurricane Sandy.

4.  All You Need Is Change. 

Speaking of kids making change, third graders at Fisher Elementary in MN, collected loose change for six weeks. They took a walk to the local bank and turned all that change into a donation to First Book.

5. The Birthday Girl

Eight-year-old Siena didn’t want toys or presents for her eighth birthday. Instead, she wanted children in need to get new books. She surpassed her goal and got her birthday wish, placing over 150 brand-new books into the hands of kids in need.

Okay, So Now What? 

Join these amazing stories by helping kids in need have a steady stream of books throughout the school year.

The post 5 Inspiring Stories Of Kids Helping Kids appeared first on First Book Blog.

Now is your chance to partner with a vendor who is stepping up to help libraries in Moore, OK. Funds4Books.com is an easy way to donate and help those affected by a tornado or other natural disaster.

I am stingy with my hard-earned money. So when I decide to donate to worthy organizations and causes you can be sure I feel confident my money will be used in a responsible manner, supporting causes that match my values and passions.

That is why I donate to Friends of YALSA every year. Like you, I am passionate about teens and teen library services. I actively seek out the ideas, inspiration, and motivation YALSA provides through blogs, listservs, publications, conferences, etc., etc. I also want to support my colleagues in their efforts to provide excellence for our young people. The grants, scholarships, and awards offered to members by YALSA enhance our entire profession.

I invite you to donate to Friends of YALSA along with me. Your support will be a positive influence for teens and those who serve them. Your money will indeed be used in a responsible manner as YALSA continues to give us the capacity to engage, serve and empower teens.

Please donate today. If we can raise $2000 by the end of August we will receive an additional $1000 from a generous donor. So each of your dollars will actually be worth $1.50!! What a great deal!!

Any amount is welcome, and it will only take a moment of your time to donate. The URL is: www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/give

Thank you so much for your support.

Today’s guest blog post is from Julia Falkenstern, a Strategic Alliances coordinator at First Book. Julia works with First Book’s corporate partners to ensure that children from low-income families throughout the country have the opportunity to own new books.

This past Saturday marked the kickoff of the third annual dd’s DISCOUNTS in-store donation drive.  The back-to-school fundraiser provides brand new books through First Book to local programs serving children in need.

Each dd’s DISCOUNTS store is connected with a local group from First Book’s network of registered schools and programs that serve children from low-income families.  You can visit one of dd’s DISCOUNTS’ 78 locations across Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas to make a donation at the register that will directly support a program in the local community.

Now through September 5^th, 100% of your donation will provide brand new, high quality books to the local program supported by your dd’s store.  dd’s DISCOUNTS is also matching donations, up to $25,000, to help even more children in dd’s communities discover the magic of reading.

For a list of dd’s DISCOUNTS locations, visit www.ddsdiscounts.com.

Tweet

By Michelle Rafferty

Last week we received a message from Miki Matoba, Director of Global Academic Business at OUP Tokyo, confirming that her staff is safe and well. This was a relief to hear, and also a reminder that although many of us are tied to the people of Japan in some way, our perspective of the human impact is relatively small.  So I asked Miki if she wouldn’t mind sharing some of her experiences, and she kindly agreed. When she responded to my questions she wrote: “Hope my answers reflect a part of how we view the incidents as Japanese.”

1.) Where were you, and what were your thoughts as the earthquake hit?

I was in a meeting room with a visitor from OUP Oxford and my staff having a meeting when the earthquake started. You may find this weird but we all are very much living with earthquakes from a young age. So little shakes here and there are just a part of our lives. But not the one we had last Friday as that was the biggest one in some hundreds of years. What I normally think when earthquakes start is when shall I get up to secure the exit and go under the desk. Most of the time, you do not have to do either as it does not last long. But not this time. As the building started to shake for a while I opened the door of the meeting room thinking that this is a big one but should stop soon. But it did not. So we put ourselves under the table hoping for the shaking to cease. When it did not, I thought then that this is a serious one and something really severe will happen as a result.

Then we saw some white stuff coming down in the office (it was not fire – just some dust coming down from the ceiling) and someone shouted that we should leave NOW. So we did. I did not take anything. Just myself and those who were meeting with me, running down from 8th floor to the ground. Even when we were running down the stairs, it was still shaking. After a while, we went back to the office to get things as the decision was made very quickly to close the office for that day. Almost everything on my desk had either fallen over or was on the floor, and it was still shaking.

2.) Was anyone prepared?

Yes and no. As Japanese, we all are prepared for earthquakes but not for something of this size and the aftermath of it.

3.) How do you continue to manage your group at such a difficult time? Is it possible to work?

Try to communicate well. We email and also have set up an internal Twitter account that we tweet to, including who will go into the office and what they are doing as we are still mainly working from home. The situation is still very unsettling making it difficult to concentrate on work (power rationing, aftershocks and the nuclear power plant situation) but we try to process day-to-day things as usual.

4.) How would you describe the city right now (the business activity, the state of mind)?

Interesting question. I think Tokyo is normally one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Now the city is very quiet compared to normal. The weather has been clear and nice after Friday so it feels odd to be in this peaceful, quiet Tokyo under the sun after all that.

5.) I’ve heard radiation levels are higher than normal – is everyone staying inside?

We have lots of information going around including rumors. We live almost as normal – just listening to TV and radio all the time, watching the progress of the nuclear plant situation. I do not go out if that can be avoided.

6.) What do people outside of Japan need to know?

How you can help!

Tweet

I just wanted to extend a hello to our new readers, many of whom I had the pleasure of meeting at ALA in San Diego earlier this week. As always, if you have suggestions, questions, ideas about/for OUPblog, I more than welcome them. You can email me at blog[at]oup[dot]com. And now, I present the Friday links…

Incredible footage of the flooding in Australia [White Light Bringer] – Related: You can donate to Queensland flood relief here.

LOOK AT THESE CAVE PHOTOS! [National Geographic]

Baby learns to just say ‘no’ [via]

Orchestra fail [YouTube audio only]

This child dances better than we ever will [YouTube]

Falling books bookshelf [via]

Some amazing basketball skillz [Dunking Devils]

An interesting question about the death penalty [GOOD]

And from The Next Web, the answer to the question you’ve all been asking…

I’m sad to report that the phenomenally talented, Ignatz award winning and dear friend to people and pets alike, Laura Park, is in sore need of emergency back surgery (specifically, a discectomy). Even with insurance, she still needs to raise $3500 which she hasn’t got, and that’s where you, Drawn’s faithful and charitable readers, can help.

She has set up a donation page to help offset the cost of the surgery and any amount you can spare will be greatly appreciated. And in return, you will be highly rewarded knowing you’ve helped out an extremely gifted artist return to the craft she loves; creating comics and paintings that are sure to slap a crooked smile on your face and plant an olde tyme song in your heart.

Oddly enough, Laura was featured on Drawn! nearly three years ago to the day, regarding the subject of artists and lower-back pain.

Posted by Stephan Britt on Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog | Permalink | No comments
Tags: back surgery, Comics, discectomy, donate, featherbed, Ignatz award, illustrator, laura park

.

If you’re like us, your heart is breaking at the suffering and devastation in Haiti caused by the massive earthquake.  That’s why from now until the end of February, MJM Books will donate $1 from every book sold directly to the Red Cross’s Haiti Relief and Development fund.

.

To be clear, if you REALLY want to do the most good with your $15.95, you should go directly to the above link and donate it all, or Text “HAITI” to 90999 to send $10 to the Red Cross Earthquake Relief.   After we’ve all done that, if you had been thinking about buying a child in your life one of our special books, you can know that you’ll be helping just a little more.

.

For more information about donating to Haiti, avoiding donation scams, and why money is more important than canned goods, go here.

…

What’s the perfect gift for the mother of your brother-in-law? What object could you press into service that would tell her both “Happy Holidays” and “I’m glad that we’re now related through marriage?” A trendy lime green toaster? Are bath salts too personal?

If you’ve ever faced a conundrum like this one, please rest assured that First Book has a solution to this holiday dilemma: make a gift in his or her honor to help bring new books to children in need. What present could be more perfect for anyone you care about than enriching communities across the country by providing access to education to low-income children?

So congratulations! You’re only minutes away from crossing those last few gifts off of your shopping list. To make a donation in honor of someone special, just visit www.firstbook.org/donate and click on “Donate in honor of someone special.” Send an e-card or print one out to let them know that you helped make literacy possible for one more child.

This holiday season, your donation to First Book will get twice as many books into the hands of kids who need them most.

Donate before December 31st, and your contribution will be matched book-for-book by Random House Children’s Books. A donation to First Book is the perfect way to honor a loved one or simply end the year by spreading the Grinch’s message of sharing, inspiration and joy.

Remember that off-the-beaten-path, Mom and Pop restaurant that a friend of a friend told you about? Chances are it was the best meal of your life.

In support of life’s little known treasures, Fang Duff Kahn Publishers created the newest addition of their City Secrets series, Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide, a book to help you find those unsung books you might otherwise never discover.

Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide features book recommendations from an all-star lineup of authors, editors, and humorists, including Pulitzer Prize-winning Oscar Hijuelos and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. These fabulous in-the-know contributors present to you a list of underappreciated books from every genre imaginable: fiction, memoirs, and yes, even crime—writing. No more book store bumbling! No more bestseller boredom! A whole world of literary magic awaits you…

And now . . . (drumroll, please) . . . the best part!  For every copy of Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide sold, Fang Duff Kahn will donate 2% of the purchase price to First Book, and help put a book directly in the hands of a child in need.

Okay, so I just might have drumrolled too early, because I forgot to mention the other best part: our Books for Books Blog Contest!  By participating in our blog contest, you can help get even more books to kids and inspire little readers everywhere. Here’s how it works:

1. Respond to this blog post between November 12th and December 1st by answering “What is your favorite overlooked book?”
2. Then, link this blog to Twitter, Facebook, send it over listservs, tell your friends (and maybe even your enemies too) because . . . if we can reach 250 comments, then Fang Duff Kahn Publishers will donate 500 BOOKS, to the kids that need them most.
3. Still not convinced? The person who posts the most overlooked book will win their very own copy of Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide. On December 1st we will announce the lucky winner right here on the First Book Blog.

“But,” you say, “I don’t have a favorite almost forgotten, underappreciated book!” Well, that’s okay (although if that is true you should highly consider buying Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide)! You can feel free to talk about your favorite, better known book as well.

So don’t even think about clicking that back button on your browser!  Help children in need experience the magic of their very first book!

Orca author Troy Wilson has just launched his “Be a Book Hero” project. For every twenty dollars donated, he’ll send an autographed copy of Perfect Man to any school library (of the donor’s choice) in North America and donate $7.50 to either Love of Reading (Canada) or Reader to Reader (USA).  Also included in the package to be sent to the schools will an 8 1/2 x 11 color sketch of Troy Wilson as the superhero of the donor’s choosing, with a caption that reads, “What are your super powers?”.

This is a great opportunity to show your support and help get books into schools. More info about how to get involved here.

In January in libraries across America, the penguin storytime is obligatory; here is a perfect title to add to your repetoire