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Posts in the Book Distributions Category
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First Book kicks off the Summer Reading Initiative with nearly 1 million books!
June 25th, 2008
Katie B.
Leave a Comment »Although school may be out for the summer, it’s still a great time to take a book with you on your summer vacation, whether it’s time by the pool or on a road trip or long flight.
To help kids in need this summer, First Book and the US Department of Education have launched their 2008 Summer reading campaign, encouraging children to keep reading over the summer and throughout the year! The initiative will provide 850,000 free books, donated by Random House Children’s Books, to schools, libraries and community organizations across the country. Now that’s very cool news for those hot summer days!
Learn more about the Summer Reading Initiative and First Book’s work with the US Department of Education on the Book Donation Campaign at www.ed.gov.
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The Perfect Distribution
June 16th, 2008
Cris B.
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As our team of four walked into the Thompson School Book Depository warehouse in Oklahoma City on a windy Wednesday morning, we were amazed to see that all of our 230,000 books, 5500 boxes, and 120 pallets had been so thoughtfully organized by title by the warehouse staff. This small, yet incredibly considerate gesture saved us hours of work, making the distribution run much more smoothly. Additionally, not only were we given plenty of room to work in and a nice, cool breeze from outside (despite the 90 degree heat), to our astonishment we were also provided with our own personal forklift driver, Rito, who was always one step ahead of us. By the end of the first day and with the help from our small team of volunteers we were delighted to have labeled and shipped almost half of the books.
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Another step towards recovery– First Book returns to New Orleans
May 16th, 2008
Catherine S.
Leave a Comment »The Times Picayune recently wrote that evidence of recovery can be seen throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area and that these glimpses of the New Orleans recovery process brighten people’s minds and show that the city is indeed on the mend.(*)
On May 12 First Book returned to New Orleans to distribute 100,000 new books nationwide thanks to a generous donation from Scholastic Inc. Over 100 recipient groups received new children’s and young adult books to aid their own efforts in rebuilding the New Orleans community and beyond. Schools, local community groups, grass-roots organizations such as the Project Pajama and C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center benefited from their new book collections. For 2 days, over 40 groups from the New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Region came by car, truck and van to pick up a range of titles which included MERCY WATSON PRINCESS IN DISGUISE, RALPH S. MOUSE and 22 other titles to distribute to the children they serve.
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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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What does 250,000 books look like?
May 2nd, 2008
Catherine S.
Leave a Comment »Do you know what 250,000 books look like? Last week was my first National Book Bank distribution with First Book in Jessup, Maryland. The mission: to coordinate and distribute a quarter of million books to more than 200 recipient groups located across the country over the course of 4 days.
It was definitely a challenging task, especially given the sheer number of book titles, recipient groups, shipping addresses and logistics. However, with the help of our excellent team of volunteers from ING and the US Department of Education we completed our mission ahead of schedule!
Thanks to the extraordinary work of these volunteer teams, the books were sorted, shipped and loaded into the recipient group vans, cars, pick-up trucks from near and far – one group even drove a minivan all the way from New Jersey to pick up books!
Thank you to each and every volunteer for your hard work at the distribution in Maryland as well as across the country! We couldn’t do our work without you!
By the way, 250,000 books would cover the surface area of almost two whole football fields!
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Pi Phi celebrates their 141st year with new books
April 28th, 2008
Katie B.
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First Book is proud to celebrate the joy of reading with the incredible women of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. Today marks the Fraternity’s 141st year and another milestone in the Fraternity’s long history of supporting literacy.On April 28, 1867, 12 women joined together to form a secret college society for women at Monmouth College in Monmouth, IL, not knowing what the future would hold. More than 140 years later, those 12 women have touched the lives of over 236,000 members across North America. Pi Beta Phi was the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men. At a time when few women were admitted to colleges and universities, Pi Beta Phi created a feeling of unity among pioneering women.
To honor this anniversary, First Book and Pi Beta Phi distributed 250,000 brand-new books to children in need across the country.
In addition, Pi Beta Phi and First Book hosted two reading party events in celebration of Founders’ Day in Dallas and Champaign, Illinois. Dallas area Pi Beta Phi alumnae and collegians and members of the University of Illinois chapter of Pi Beta Phi celebrated the donation of brand-new books by decorating bookplates and reading with local children. Each child participating received two new books to take home.
Pi Phi has a long legacy of supporting literacy and we applaud their renewed commitment to literacy for children across the country. Happy Birthday Pi Beta Phi!
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First Book Hard at Work
March 26th, 2008
Erin T.
Leave a Comment »This week First Book staff rolled-up their sleeves in Jessup, Maryland and labeled, shipped and loaded almost 200,000 books. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…
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A First Book staffer looks back…
January 10th, 2008
Andrea T.
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Tomorrow I am leaving my job here at First Book, as well as my wonderful Advisory Board volunteers in the states of WA, ND, SD, GA and KY, to pursue a teaching career. Since I started working at First Book a few months before the blog was born, I thought I would take a moment to look back at some of my favorite posts. -
Thousands of New Books from the Click of a Mouse
November 15th, 2007
Katie B.
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I recently got the chance to take my first trip to the gateway to the West – St. Louis, Missouri – with the First Book National Book Bank. I had been on several Book Bank distributions before, but this trip was unique because I was able to see the results from a promotion on The Literacy Site first-hand as well as meet some of the great women from Pi Beta Phi in person.
In September 2007, First Book, Pi Beta Phi and The Literacy Site hosted a Back to School Click Challenge to provide even more books for children in need. Visitors to The Literacy Site rose to the challenge and generated an additional 20,000 brand new books, donated by First Book and Pi Beta Phi, to disadvantaged children in the St. Louis area.From October 16th to 19th, First Book staff members and volunteers from Pi Beta Phi worked together to distribute the 20,000 beautiful books generated from The Literacy Site to programs serving children in need in the greater St. Louis area.
From organizing shipments to labeling and lifting boxes, Pi Phi members helped get thousands of new books out of the warehouse and into the hands of the kids who need them. The books, donated by DK Publishing, included titles about ballerinas, princesses, farmers, and firefighters, that will help spark the imaginations of thousands of children.
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Tales from the Bay
October 19th, 2007
Elena B.
Leave a Comment »It was another amazing Book Bank distribution for me and three colleagues who headed West last week. From the US Coast Guard station in Alameda, California, First Book distributed 300,000 brand new Simon & Schuster books. Titles ranged from a bilingual “Bob the Builder” book to holiday themes and beyond. While a distribution of this size normally takes at least four, if not five days to complete, we were able to do it in three. What’s our secret? The men and women of the US Coast Guard, who are the absolute best volunteers you can ask for in a warehouse. This was the third time I have personally been to this site, and it’s always a smooth operation. Not only are they extremely kind, they are also a really fun bunch. To Sam, Nate, and the rest of our friends in Alameda- THANK YOU!
