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Posts in the Advisory Boards Category
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Food for the Body, Food for the Mind in Keene, NH
May 22nd, 2008
Nicole T.
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This week marked another chapter in my love affair with New England with a trip to Keene, New Hampshire. My colleague Matthew and I traveled to Keene for a First Book Meet and Greet in celebration of our Food for the Body, Food for the Mind campaign with C&S Wholesale Grocers. The initiative will distribute 50,000 new books in southwestern New Hampshire by the end of 2008.
First Book-Keene State College hosted the Meet and Greet on campus and provided a wonderful spread of refreshments. It was standing room only as we told programs throughout the Monadnock region about how they could receive books from the initiative. (Matthew and I are secretly claiming that we held the best Meet and Greet ever!)
Earlier in the day, we walked around the quaint Keene community to visit some local programs and had wonderful tours of the Keene Public Library and the YMCA along the way. Everyone was so friendly and generous. We even received boxes of cookies at an impromptu stop at the Girls Scouts regional office!
Thank you Mary, Brie, Gina, Carol, Gail, Madeline and so many others for your wonderful hospitality and for the work you do every day serving children in need! Please view more photos from Keene.
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Advisory Board Spotlight- Harlan County, KY
May 21st, 2008
James F.
Leave a Comment »While planning their second annual Speed Read event, First Book-Harlan County, KY developed a unique concept involving local schools. With the support of area principals and reading recovery teachers, Advisory Board members traveled to Harlan County schools and conducted Speed Reads in several classes. Each child was asked to donate 1 penny per word read. After some initial hesitation, the kids embraced this fun idea—many even wanting to read multiple times.Not only did this concept provide the kids an opportunity to showcase their reading skills, but as a bonus the Advisory Board awarded the class that raised the most money a pizza party paid for by Board member donations. Also, the school with the most donations was presented a trophy designed by First Book-Harlan County board members.
Four schools participated and raised over $1,100.00—that’s 110,000 pennies.
Because most of the children attending these schools are also in First Book-Harlan County, KY’s target group, the kids will directly benefit from these Speed Read events.
First Book honors the Harlan County, KY Advisory Board for their creativity and terrific results. Well Done!
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First Book-Charlotte named Best of the Best Charity
May 20th, 2008
Anna W.
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First Book- Charlotte recently received the Best of the Best (BOB) award from Charlotte Magazine. From the best burger to the best new clothing store, Charlotte Magazine does an extensive search each year to find the best of the best in their expanding city. This year, the Advisory Board in Charlotte was recognized as the best of the best charity for its incredible work of distributing tens of thousands of new books to local programs since their inception in 2006.
Congratulations, First Book- Charlotte, a well-deserved award!
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108,000 Books: All in a Day’s Work
May 9th, 2008
Nicole T.
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Monday morning 2 of my colleagues and I left the office bright and early at 6:30am. We were off to a warehouse operated by Hub One Logistics in Chambersburg, PA for a First Book National Book Bank distribution. Our task was to distribute 108,000 books, generously donated by our publishing partner HarperCollins, to programs serving children in need across the country. On our arrival, the warehouse quickly staged our books into a nice open space and we were off to work pulling orders for pick-up and labeling boxes for shipment.Amazing volunteers including our good friend Floyd (aka SuperReader) and new friends from F&M Trust, Citigroup, and the Air National Guard joined in the fun. One volunteer found her way to First Book via Craigslist and Ellin from First Book-Huntingdon County stayed to help for a couple hours after picking up books for her Advisory Board.
After a short pizza lunch break, the remaining groups arrived to pick up their books and the last truck was loaded. We cleaned up our mess of shrink wrap, labels and broken pallet pieces and before we knew it, we were back on the road to DC. We arrived at the office at about 6pm tired and dirty but pleased with what we had accomplished…just another day at First Book. View more photos from the day.
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National Volunteer Week: Thank you for your time!
April 28th, 2008
James F.
Leave a Comment »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!
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First Book in Massachusetts!
April 18th, 2008
Bonnie J.
Leave a Comment »On April 12th First Book University hosted a seminar and reception in Amherst, Massachusetts. Both events were held at the inspired Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The museum, a 40,000 square foot building situated in a 7.5-acre apple orchard, was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of DC living!
In addition to learning about fundraising and having a book granting party, we were treated to viewing the works of great authors and illustrators such as Arnold Lobel, Leo Leonni, and of course, Eric Carle. Our reception welcomed many guests to the art studio where Advisory Board members, Recipient Groups, and community members gathered to network and learn more about First Book as well as trying their creative hands at watercolor. In fact, I can now say that I have a work of art hanging in the Eric Carle Museum!Thanks to everyone who attended and made this event a success! If you were not able to make it, but are curious about the work First Book does, join us for a conference call on May 15th. Please email help@firstbook.org to register or visit our help center online at http://help.firstbook.org/.
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Advisory Board Spotlight of the Month - Doris Grajkowski
April 17th, 2008
James F.
Leave a Comment »Doris Grajkowski, First Book-Fond du Lac, WI. Doris Grajkowski is an outstanding member of First Book-Fond du Lac, WI. Doris, a retired elementary school teacher has seen many times over how the power of books impacts a child’s life.In addition to her work with First Book-Fond du Lac, WI, Doris is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society where she brings new books to the children she sees during home visits. Doris said, “The families that we visit are very poor; they cannot afford new books, this (Borders) promotion will give the children a chance to succeed and become readers.”
First Book honors Doris for her work with First Book and for providing books as a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society. Doris’ dedication has truly made a difference to the Fond du Lac community.
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Erin in Ohio
April 10th, 2008
Erin T.
Leave a Comment »This week Erin will be traveling through Northern Ohio for a series of meetings with new and established Advisory Boards, a conference for the Ohio Student Education Association, and a Meet and Greet at The Ohio State University.
Day One:
6:15 am: I’m awake before the alarm, probably from fear of subconsciously turning off the alarm in my sleep and missing the morning flight entirely (a recurring nightmare of mine). I’m normally a fairly light packer, but the combination of packing when tired, and trying to predict the volatile spring weather of Ohio has led to very full bags. At least I’ll be prepared.
9:30 am: I have the cable for my computer, the cord for my ipod, and another one for my digital camera. I’ve walked off without the charger for my cell phone… I always knew this was going to happen one day!
10:30 am: I’ve landed in Cleveland to surprisingly warm temperatures and blue skies. Enterprise Rental Car is out of cars, apparently due to the American Airline fiasco, and offers me a SUV. The vehicle is really nice, but anyone who has seen my parking skills would agree that I could benefit from a small car. On the bright side, I could pick up a stranded soccer team if need be.
4:00 pm: Down to work! I had a great meeting with the Campus Advisory Board at Walsh University. The founding members of First Book- Walsh University graduated last year, so an alumna returned to offer her insights and support for this year’s group. I am really looking forward to seeing the group transition and grow in the upcoming year.
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Welcome to First Book- Greater Johnstown, PA!
April 4th, 2008
Heather J.
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Congratulations to First Book-Greater Johnstown, PA on the incredible success of its First Book Advisory Board Kick-Off Reading Event on Thursday, March 27! The event brought in nearly 100 people during a cold, rainy evening—a testimony to the community’s commitment to literacy. The children and their families enjoyed an evening of interactivity and reading ending with a pizza party for all. First Book-Johnstown offered these children a moment in time to remember with this event. To see each child’s pride and joy when they came up to receive books from Advisory Board Members was simply magic.
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FBU Goes to Baltimore
March 21st, 2008
Molly W.
Leave a Comment »College students from Georgetown and the University of Maryland – College Park, a representative from the DC Public Schools, KPMG employees, and SunTrust Mortgage associates were among those gathered for FBU Baltimore on Friday, March 7. Attendees started the day with a lively game of Jeopardy to test their First Book knowledge followed by sessions on Mapping the Fundraising Universe and the DNA of an Effective Board.
We were very excited to welcome Cory Anderson of the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a guest speaker during lunch. Cory is with KIDSCOUNT, which is an online resource that many Advisory Boards use when determining the number of children living in poverty in
the communities they are serving. We also gave a First Book-Hero Award out at the event to Jennifer Pitt, who made the drive from Philadelphia to participate! First Book – Philadelphia is one of the longest standing and most successful Advisory Boards. Congratulations Jennifer!
A big thank you goes out to SunTrust Mortgage for providing the venue and food for the event!
