Guest blogger Evette Rios is regularly featured on the syndicated TV talk show, “Rachael Ray.” Evette Rios has also designed on camera for HGTV’s “Freestyle”, and TLC’s “In A Fix.” Evette Rios designs interiors through her firm Sitio, bringing experience working in several of Manhattan’s top interior firms. A graduate of Bates College, Evette Rios also attended both Parsons School of Design and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. Evette Rios also shares her design advice in spanish in “Siempre Mujer” magazine.
Walking into The Brooklyn Brownstone School, I couldn’t help but feel elated to see painted on the foundation of their building the following motto: “creating a community of lifelong learners.” It was a thrill to visit the class of precocious second graders! They were all very interested in my read-aloud of Mercy Watson to the Rescue. They even acted out scenes and tried to predict the ending!
We gathered in the library for reading time, I shared a bit of my history with the kids (after all, I’m a Brooklyn girl myself) and we made bookmarks shaped like a pig to tie in with the theme of the story.
My friends from Eight O’Clock Coffee and Candlewick Press provided two brand new books for each child with the help of First Book. They were heroes, donating 250 books for the school – two for every student! But, the real heroes were the children, who delighted in each word and enthusiastically participated in making crafts and story time. Once they received their books, many kids had them opened to chapter 6, the page where we last left Mercy in our read-aloud. They couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
It was a treat for me to join the students of the Brooklyn Brownstone School. I know we were able to make a difference in the next chapter of their lives.
I had the honor of attending this event for First Book. Evette was totally engaging and the children truly felt special as she shared her time and story-telling with them! One little girl asked if she had to give her books back–when we let her know they were hers to keep and take home, her smile lit up the room! Bringing books to children…that’s what we’re all about!
Thank you for sharing your wealth of information on this blog.
Happy to see the rewards program for 8oclock paying off this way.
It is a blessing to actually see people still care here in the world. Going to school in the inner city public school in Paterson NJ. I Cant remember actually using books to read or even text books that could be used in class. The teacher was the only person in the class with a text book and if we did have text books they were really out dated and almost falling apart with pages torn out. To hear that. Eight O’ clock coffee is doing a great job with it’s outreach to the community and actually staying local. Because is is the local consumers that actually keep their shop running. So why not give back to the community and actually for a good cause which is a really great idea. Evette Rios is so down to earth with what she does and understands what these kids are going through because she has been through with it. Donating 250 books i particularly wish more local businesses to actually get involved with donating back to the local schools and YMCA’s that are around their businesses.
This a really good that These two businesses and Evette Rios continue to work together and bring back books to other schools in the Brooklyn borough. Many other products are needed by schools such are writing utensils, rulers, chalk, computers, and even chalkboard are not being used by some schools. It was a bad thing when the teacher ran out of chalk we would have to listen to most of our lectures. Some students do not learn that way and more of visual learners like myself.