Posts in category Book Distributions

Take THAT Summer Slide! 15,000 Books to Kids in DC

Jun18
2013 3 Comments Tracy Bartley Written by Tracy Bartley

Summer Slide DCRecently, we took a hard look at the effects of Summer Slide on children without access to books. We also saw the incredible effects that providing books over the summer, not only to children in general, but to children from low income families specifically, had on reading, comprehension and test scores.

In that spirit, the Junior League of Washington as a part of their Resolution Read project took Summer Slide head on, distributing 15,000 books from First Book to D.C. Public Schools at Garfield Elementary. Children were asked to perform various physical activites; dancing or doing jumping jacks in order to ‘earn’ their books to take home. Jumping and dancing was led by NFL player Visanthe Shiancoe.  After successfully completing their exercises, children went to a table to select books and then Summer Slide DCread their new books with volunteers. These books were distributed as part of a program with Let’s Read. Let’s Move, encouraging children to continue moving and learning throughout the summer.

“It feels tremendous to give away the 100,000th book hand-in-hand with partners like CNCS, DCPS, First Book and DC SCORES.” said Wendy Cumberland, President of the Junior League of Washington.

 

More Great Photos (Courtesy of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

Click here to prevent Summer Slide

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Posted in Books & Reading - Tagged , , ,

Students at Holy Family Catholic School Receive Over 1,000 Books

Apr19
2013 Leave a Comment Julia Lien Written by Julia Lien

Our guest bloggers today are students from Holy Family Catholic School located in Toronto, Canada. Holy Family is an elementary school that recently signed up with First Book Canada, and they’ve already received over 1,000 books for their small school.

Holy Family Students Forget the electronic games, nothing beats spending time with a fun book. That’s what the students at Holy Family Catholic School discovered when First Book Canada donated a variety of exciting books to the students of the school.

“I like the books I got because the topics were interesting,” said Daniel, a third-grade student at Holy Family. “My books were Traitor’s Gate, Ancient Rome and Medieval Times. These books are my favourites. Thank you First Book Canada, I hope you will send more cool books to us.”

The books included fiction as well as nonfiction catering to readers of various reading levels and ages.  The older students at Holy Family shared in the joy of reading and were similarly appreciative.

“First Book Canada has given kids around Canada an opportunity to read different books on different topics,” said Micah, a sixth-grade student. “Every book tells a story. Even kids from JK were given a chance to get a head start on reading. Most importantly, First Book Canada has let us learn information we never knew before. Thank you for giving our school a chance to turn the TV off and open a book.”

Posted in First Book Canada, Guest Blog Posts, National Book Bank

One Million Books Available Now for Schools and Programs in States Affected by Hurricane Sandy

Apr15
2013 Leave a Comment Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

One Million Books from First Book for Victims of Hurricane SandySince Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast last fall, First Book has been working to help local schools, community programs and families rebuild their lost libraries.

Now, thanks to our friends at Random House, we have the resources to rebuild tens of thousands of home and classroom libraries: over one million brand-new, high-quality kid’s books.

We just need to get the word out.

Help us by sharing this blog post with anyone you know who works with children in need, and tell them to sign up with First Book today.

Recognizing the wide-ranging impact of this storm on many aspects of children’s lives, schools and programs do not have to have been physically damaged by the storm to apply for books. Any school or program that was affected by the storm or serves children in need in one of the 13 affected states is encouraged to sign up to receive books.

NOTE: The books are available to schools and programs in the 13 states designated by FEMA as being affected by Hurricane Sandy: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Posted in Book Relief, First Book Partners - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Young Diplomat Killed While Bringing Books to Kids

Apr11
2013 18 Comments Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Yesterday morning, Andrew Meyer, the operations manager for the First Book Marketplace, sent an email to the First Book staff sharing his thoughts about Anne Smedinghoff, a young foreign service officer killed in Afghanistan while bringing books to children in need.

I was touched by Andrew’s email, and asked him if I could share it on the First Book blog.

Young Diplomat Killed Bringing New Books to Kids in Need

Anne Smedinghoff (Photo from washingtonpost.com)

Many of you probably heard that six Americans were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan this past Saturday. It seems that we have something in common with at least one of them: Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old foreign service officer from Chicago. Anne was killed while delivering textbooks to children at a school.

Certainly we’re far from the chaos of Afghanistan, but I can’t help but feel a kinship with this young woman. I know as well as anyone that this business — this business of doing good — can be extremely challenging: long hours, increasing demand, lower salaries, uncertain funding sources, etc.

But never forget that we are all doing our part to increase knowledge and level the playing field. We are contributing to a movement that will have an impact centuries from now.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on life since my wife’s passing back in September and I know that when my time comes I hope to be comforted by the fact that I’ve done my part to make the world just a little bit better.

Posted in Education, General, Guest Blog Posts, Literacy - Tagged , , , ,

Affected by Hurricane Sandy? First Book Can Help You Get New Books.

Feb26
2013 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Affected by Hurricane Sandy? First Book Can Help

Click here (or on the flyer above) to sign up! Feel free to share this link, or download the graphic and share.

 

Posted in Book Recipients, Book Relief, Books & Reading - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

15,000 New Books on the National Mall, Plus Celebrities, Cabinet Secretaries and Cute Kids

Jan21
2013 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

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On Saturday, volunteers from across the country joined First Book on the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate President Obama’s National Day of Service by providing 15,000 brand-new books to DC-area children from low-income families.

Click here to see photos of the event, including pictures of volunteers, political leaders, and even a few celebrities.

First Book was one of seven nonprofits featured at the event, highlighting the idea of community service in such areas as education, the environment and support for military families.

Each volunteer packed two books into a bag, and decorated bookplates with personal messages.

Screen shot 2013-01-21 at 1.56.04 PM

The books, including “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport, were provided thanks to the generous support of our friends at KPMG, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, through its KPMG’s Family for Literacy program.

The bags will be distributed in the coming days to students throughout DC, thanks to First Book’s partnership with the American Federation of Teachers.

signing

Even if you weren’t able to join us on the National Mall, you can still bring new books to kids in need. Click here to donate to our National Day of Service Virtual Book Drive. Every $2.50 provides one new books to a child in need.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, First Book Events, First Book Partners, KPMG, Virtual Book Drives, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our Big Year Together

Dec27
2012 Kyle Zimmer Written by Kyle Zimmer

Happy holidays, from everyone at First Book!

We had a big year here at First Book! I want to let you know everything we accomplished this year, and ask for your support as we continue our work to transform education by bringing new books to children from low-income families.

2012: First Book's big yearFirst Book celebrated two big milestones this year – our 20th anniversary and the distribution of our 100 millionth book. We also expanded the First Book network to bring brand-new books to a lot more teachers, librarians and local program leaders; 22,000 new schools and programs signed up in 2012, an increase of 92%.

On top of that, we delivered 11.2 million books, started local First Book volunteer chapters in a dozen new communities, and started offering critical new categories of books that teachers tell us are badly needed: anti-bullying books, healthy living books, bilingual/non-English titles and more.

But I don’t want to overwhelm you with numbers and statistics.

What all those things mean is new, high-quality books into the hands of kids from low-income families, the books they desperately need to succeed – in school and in life.

I will share with you a comment we received recently from Sue Carnes, a librarian at Kate Bell Elementary in Houston, about working with First Book to get new books for her students this year:

“First Book is the light at the end of the tunnel, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I wish you could have seen the smiles on the faces of the kids and teachers. Our students are never without a book now, even when the library is closed. Sometimes when things sound too good to be true, they are both good and true.”

Thank you so much for your support of First Book and the children who are counting on us.

Kyle Zimmer
President, First Book

Posted in Book Recipients, First Book Supporters, Kyle Zimmer, Success Stories - Tagged , ,

[INFOGRAPHIC] First Book’s Big Year

Dec20
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book's Big Year: We got a lot of books to kids in 2012

* Click on the graphic to see a bigger, snazzier version.

Learn more about how First Book provides new books to kids in need, and how you can get involved, at firstbook.org.

Posted in Book Recipients, First Book Supporters, Success Stories, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , ,

Books In Dallas And Vegas…Oh My!

Nov28
2012 Gina Rullo Written by Gina Rullo

Books distributed through First Book National Book Bank in Dallas & VegasBooks are bigger in Texas! This week, a National Book Bank team is in Dallas, TX to provide books to local programs and beyond.

Thanks in part to World Vision and their donation of warehouse space, there will be a total of 400,000 books being distributed from the great state of Texas this week.  Hundreds of programs nationwide will be receiving books in English and Spanish, with 112 programs just in the Dallas area picking up over 120,000 books from First Book. Yeehaw!

While one National Book Bank team is moving books out from the South, we have yet another National Book Bank team in the West sending books out at the same time from Las Vegas.

Books distributed through First Book National Book Bank in Dallas & VegasNeon lights will not serve as a distraction this week as a total of 465,000 books will be sent out the warehouse door. With generous support from Spread the Word Nevada and local volunteers, books are going to programs around the country, and First Book will distribute over 150,000 books to 187 local programs just in the Vegas vicinity. Books being picked up in Vegas will stay in Vegas!

From the South to the West, a total of 865,000 books are being picked up Books distributed through First Book National Book Bank in Dallas & Vegasand shipped out from two different states to hundreds of schools and programs who serve kids in need. A special thanks to volunteers from Texas AFT, World Vision, Spread the Word Nevada, local First Book Advisory Boards and many other community groups and members whose time and energy make this possible!

 

Anyone who works with kids in need is eligible to get books from First Book. First Book regularly distributes large quantities of brand-new books donated by publishers, free of charge. To sign up, visit First Book on the web.

Posted in National Book Bank - Tagged , , , , ,

And the winner is …

Nov15
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

This morning in Washington DC, First Book distributed our 100 millionth brand-new book.

This morning at Martha’s Table, an amazing community program serving homeless families in Washington DC, First Book distributed our 100 millionth brand-new book. (Check out this great story on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.)

That’s not a typo. Since the organization was founded in 1992, First Book has provided 100 million brand-new, high-quality children’s books to kids in need throughout the United States.

We couldn’t decide what the actual 100 millionth book should be, so we let the people decide! Over 12,000 votes were cast in our ‘Ten Books Every Child Should Own’ contest.

And the winner?

“Green Eggs & Ham”, by Dr. Seuss!

Click here to see First Book's 100 millionth book on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

Click here to see First Book’s 100 millionth book on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

Kyle Zimmer, First Book’s president and co-founder, presented Chase-Kennedy Williams, age 4, with her very own copy of “Green Eggs & Ham”. Afterwards Kyle read the book to Chase-Kennedy and her classmates, after which they each got their own copy of the book to take home.

Watching Kyle give that book to little Chase-Kennedy was an incredible moment for everyone at First Book. The look on her face is one we’ve seen thousands and thousands of times when kids who have few or no books of their own are given a brand-new, beloved book of their very own, but we never get tired of it.

First Book staff with kids at Martha's Table in Washington DCMartha’s Table has a special place in our hearts here at First Book. Not only is it a terrific program that does an enormous amount of good for children and families in our home town of Washington DC, it’s where First Book was born twenty years ago, when Kyle, then a corporate lawyer volunteering in her spare time, realized that the children she was working with had no books of their own at home. She founded First Book, along with two friends, to ensure that those children, and others, would have access to the books they needed.

A big thank you is due to all the many partners and donors who help make our work possible, along with the heroic educators at programs like Martha’s Table across the country who are on the front lines every day. We couldn’t do it without you!

Okay, celebration’s over. Back to work. 100 million books is a whole lot of books, but there are plenty more kids out there waiting for us.

Want to help distribute the next 100 million books? Click here to get involved.

Posted in Book Recipients, Books & Reading, First Book Events, Kyle Zimmer, Social Entrepreneurship, Success Stories, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
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