April 27-May 3 is National Volunteer Week and this is the perfect time to formally thank our volunteers for their dedication to First Book.  Their accomplishments in the form of nearly 275 Advisory Boards are a great example of the power volunteers have to affect significant and lasting change.  

According to the Gallup Organization, 44% of Americans volunteer with a formal organization. This is equivalent to 9 million full-time employees, valued at $239 million.  

As difficult as it may be to grasp the enormity of 44% of Americans, 9 million full-time employees or $239 million dollars, it is even more difficult to place an actual value on a volunteer’s time.

The most precious of all resources is time.  Try as we might it is simply not possible to acquire more of it.   Sure we try to save time, make time even attempt to gain time during daylight savings–but these are illusions. 

Therefore, First Book values its volunteers’ time, not in dollars, but in recognizing and appreciating their generosity of expending their most precious resource by giving books to kids.  

The work done by First Book Advisory Boards is unmatched.  Over the years, they have raised millions of dollars, distributed countless millions of books to thousands of children.  As difficult as it may be to grasp the enormity of these accomplishments, perhaps even more difficult is to find the right words to show our appreciation, but here we go:  We at First Book honor our incredible volunteers and on behalf of the children we serve send out a GREAT BIG THANK YOU!