-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Book Distributions category.
Posts in the Book Distributions Category
-
A First Book staffer looks back…
January 10th, 2008
Andrea T.
7 Comments »
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.
2 Comments »
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.
-
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!
-
Oklahoma Programs Receive 50,000 Books from First Book
September 27th, 2007
Diane N.
Leave a Comment »
Last week brought the First Book team to Oklahoma City for the conclusion of What Book Got You Hooked? — our summer-long campaign celebrating our 15th anniversary and the distribution of our 50 millionth book to kids in need. Visitors to the Web site were invited to share the books that made them readers, then vote for the state to receive 50,000 brand new children’s books through First Book.That state was OKLAHOMA!
First Book was delighted to meet the wonderful supporters from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation and the dozens of other local programs whose consistent voting made their win possible. On September 19, these local heroes came together to attend a celebratory event held at Omniplex, Science Musem Oklahoma. They were joined by several members of the media, as well as: Oklahoma’s First Lady Kim Henry; Janet Stevens of Idearc Media, a sponsor of the national competition; Makenna Smith, Miss Oklahoma 2007; Mike Wimmer, award-winning children’s book illustrator; Brooke Good, Mrs. Oklahoma International 2007; and Susan McVey, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.
-
West Virginia Book Distribution
July 3rd, 2007
David M.
Leave a Comment »
My first week as an intern with First Book began with a First Book National Book Bank book distribution in Martinsburg, West Virginia. With roughly 500,000 books being given out, I knew this would be no small task for the first day. With the help of the US Coast Guard, Berkeley County Schools, and numerous other volunteers, all orders were ready for pickup and shipment by 1:30pm of our second day.The next two days involved packing cars for books being picked up as well as creative methods of “fun” for down time. The distribution was hard work, but a rewarding first week experience. Big thanks to the other First Book workers: Nicole, Tabitha, Rachel, and Lynda.
You can see pictures of our exciting week on Flickr.
-
130,000 Books In Jacksonville!
May 14th, 2007
Shamyra D.
Leave a Comment »Last week, two of my coworkers and I were on a 3-day adventure in a warehouse in Jacksonville, Florida to distribute 130,000 books to area kids. It was all very exciting, though very busy! Several of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars players, along with their mascot Jaxson de Ville, pulled together to make this a wonderful event.
This newspaper article has all the exciting details — Jaguars bring home love of reading to Jacksonville kids
-
The Coast Guard and First Book
May 11th, 2007
Clarissa P.
Leave a Comment »Many of our book distributions would not be possible without the help of the U.S. Coast Guard. As the signature charity of the Coast Guard, First Book relies on their warehouse space and volunteers to help us distribute millions of books to kids in need.
The Coast Guard worked with us on our New Orleans book distribution in March, and they recently issued this press release about the distribution — including some great photos from the warehouse.
You can learn more about our partnership with the Coast Guard on our website.
-
New Orleans Book Distribution
April 9th, 2007
Stephanie R.
Leave a Comment »
A sign in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, LA. View more photos from New Orleans on
First Book’s Flickr PageI just got back from a week-long trip to New Orleans, and I don’t think I’ve come back the same person. The week was intense and my mind is racing with impressions of the place and the people I met.
I went to New Orleans with three coworkers to distribute 260,000 books for Book Relief, and counting this distribution we should be right at 4 million books now. First Book is the charitable partner of the US Coast Guard, so we spent the week in their warehouse on a Naval facility on the Mississippi River, and working alongside all those incredible people was an awesome experience.
-
Green Eggs and Ham in San Antonio
March 5th, 2007
Stephanie R.
1 Comment »
The Cat in the Hat and San Antonio Councilman Roger Flores reading to kids from Neil Armstrong Elementary School.
This week I was lucky enough to spend some time in sunny San Antonio, Texas. What a fun town! I was there to help set up an event at the San Antonio Central Library, an impressive-looking contemporary building where crowds of people literally wait around outside for the doors to open in the morning. That’s the attitude we like to see!
Thirty 1st graders came to the event to receive copies of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham from First Book, part of a 20,000-book distribution in San Antonio, sponsored by Idearc Media Corp., publisher of the Verizon Yellow Pages and Superpages.com. San Antonio was one of eight cities participating in the “Cast Your Vote for Literacy” campaign last fall, and the library played a key role in mobilizing their online vote to win the distribution. Great job, San Antonio!
-
Spreading the joy of Blue
December 19th, 2006
Mary Beth F.
1 Comment »
Donovan Patton poses with a group of kids showing off their new books.
Recently, First Book joined Nickelodeon, JetBlue Airways and Candlewick Press to host a celebratory event for the children in the Head Start program at the Long Beach School for Adults to announce Long Beach at the winning community to receive 50,000 new books from the Jet Back to School with Blue campaign. Donovan Patton, “Joe” from Nick Jr.’s Blue’s Clues, and Barney Saltzberg, Candlewick Press children’s book author, were on hand to read to the children and celebrate the donation.
In addition to the distribution to the Long Beach community, Candlewick Press, which is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, also donated 15,000 books to each of the other seven Jet Blue communities that participated in the Jet Back to School with Blue campaign. Books were distributed to literacy programs throughout Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Washington, D.C., New York City, Newark, NJ, Oakland/San Francisco, and Orlando to bring the total number of books distributed through the campaign to 155,000!
Now that’s something to celebrate! To view photos from the event, please visit First Book’s Flickr page.
