Posts in category Book Recipients

First Book Supports 50,000 Local Schools and Community Programs. (Yes! 50,000!)

Mar20
2013 9 Comments Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

50,000 Local Schools and Community Programs in the First Book NetworkLast year First Book made it a goal to reach more kids in need by doubling the number of local schools and community programs in our national network, from 25,000 to 50,000.

We’ve reached that number! Over 50,000 Title I classrooms, early childhood education programs, afterschool programs, museums and libraries, housing authorities, faith-based organizations, military family support programs, health clinics and others are signed up with First Book, and every one of them now has permanent, ongoing access to a steady stream of brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources.

First Book Supports 50,000 Local Schools and Community ProgramsThat’s terrific news, and we’re grateful to all the partners and supporters that helped us get there.

But we’re not knocking off work just yet. There are 30 million children in the United States living in low-income homes, and access to books is scarce for far too many of them. There are over 1.3 million programs and classrooms still waiting for us, and we need to reach them all.

Help make that happen! If you know someone who works with kids from low-income families, tell them about First Book. Forward them this blog post, or send them to our website, where they can sign up.

It’s quick, it’s free, and we have brand-new books just waiting for them.

Posted in First Book Partners, First Book Supporters, Success Stories - Tagged , ,

The Stories for All Project: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

Mar11
2013 17 Comments Kyle Zimmer Written by Kyle Zimmer

First Book announces The Stories for All Project

At First Book, we want to see all kids become strong readers, the critical step to succeeding in school and in life. But all too often the children we work with have books with characters and stories that aren’t relevant to their lives. And that makes it harder to turn them on to reading.*

So today we are announcing an extraordinary step toward remedying this problem: The Stories for All Project.

The Stories for All ProjectWe are not the first people to complain and worry about this issue. So we knew if we were actually going to make a difference we needed a market-driven solution. In short, we needed to put our money where our mouth is.

We reached out to the publishing industry with the offer to purchase $500,000 worth of books featuring voices that are rarely represented in children’s literature: minorities, characters of color, and others whose experiences resonate with the children we serve. The response was overwhelming. In fact, we received so many great proposals that we decided to double our commitment, purchasing $500,000 worth of new titles from both HarperCollins and Lee & Low Books — $1 million worth of books altogether. We’ll be able to offer hundreds of thousands of new books to the kids we serve.

With these major purchases, First Book is continuing to harness market forces to create social change; by aggregating the untapped demand for books and resources in thousands of low-income communities, we’re helping to create a new market for the publishing industry. When that happens, they respond by publishing more titles with more relevant content. Everyone really does win, and that’s how you make real, systemic change both possible and sustainable.

This is an exciting step! But it’s just the beginning. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days and weeks about The Stories for All Project.

Join us! If you work with children from low-income neighborhoods, or know someone who does, sign up with First Book today. We have books for you too.

* In a recent survey of more than 2,000 educators from First Book schools and programs, 90 percent of respondents agreed that the children in their programs would be more enthusiastic readers if they had access to books with characters, stories and images that reflect their lives and their neighborhoods.

Kyle Zimmer is the president and CEO of First Book.

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Kyle Zimmer, Literacy, Marketplace, Social Entrepreneurship - Tagged , , , ,

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

Feb26
2013 5 Comments 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 Distributions, Book Relief, Books & Reading - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

[INFOGRAPHIC] The Haves and the Have Nots

Feb24
2013 2 Comments Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

[INFOGRAPHIC] The Haves and the Have-Nots

If you work with kids from low-income neighborhoods, First Book can help you get brand-new, high-quality books.

Posted in Books & Reading, Literacy - Tagged , , ,

Share the Love! Books = Valentines

Feb14
2013 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Share The Love!

Posted in Books & Reading, Teachers - Tagged , , , ,

Investing in Education: Kyle Zimmer’s Reaction to the State of the Union

Feb12
2013 Kyle Zimmer Written by Kyle Zimmer

“Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on – by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime.” — President Barack Obama

I was grateful to hear the president talk about early childhood education tonight, and the enormous impact it has on our nation.

First Book and the importance of early childhood education

Lack of access to education and resources for America’s most vulnerable children is a national crisis, every bit as serious as immigration reform, gun control and the national debt. But unlike so many other complex problems, this is one we know how to solve.

We have been talking about these children for generations. All that’s lacking is the political will.

Although the issues we face are complex, we know that early childhood education is the most straightforward solution; every study shows that there’s nothing more valuable than turning a child into a reader at an early age. They enter school with greater knowledge and vocabularies; they do better not just on reading tests, but on math tests. They have the foundation they need to succeed — in school and in life.

We know what happens otherwise. As President Obama alluded to, kids who drop out of high school are far more likely to be jobless, become teen parents, or end up in prison, and far less likely to become informed, engaged citizens. While we debate endlessly, an entire generation of leaders, thinkers, engineers, artists and writers is being lost to us for lack of opportunities and resources.

Children from low-income neighborhoods are the most vulnerable. 80 percent of the preschools and after school programs serving children in need do not have a single book for the children they serve. In some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children.

First Book and the importance of early childhood educationFirst Book, the organization I lead, is committed to helping the 30 million American children living in low-income neighborhoods become success stories. We work with local educators and community leaders across the country to supply them with new, high-quality books. They understand the needs of the children and families in their community, and First Book provides them with the books and educational resources they need.

So I urge all of you to get involved right now. If you work with kids in need at a Title I school, Head Start center or community program, sign up with First Book today to get new, high-quality books for your kids. You can also volunteer, or donate to support our work.

This is a crisis, but it’s one that we can solve. And — if we work together — we will.

Kyle Zimmer is president and CEO of First Book.

Posted in Books & Reading, Education, Kyle Zimmer, Literacy - Tagged , , , , , ,

OMG Books! How First Book is Putting Half a Million Dollars on the Table to Make Sure Kids Get the Books They Need.

Jan31
2013 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

UPDATE: So many publishers have expressed interest that we’ve extended the deadline for proposals until Friday, Feb. 8 at 9 pm ET. (If you’re a publisher and have already submitted materials, feel free to make changes and send it back in. Questions? Email omgbooks@firstbook.org.)

# # #

First Book event in Washington DCAt First Book, we do everything in our power to make sure that kids from low-income families are getting the books they need. So we don’t just drop a box of used books off at the door. We work hard to make sure we offer Newbery and Caldecott winners, popular titles, books that kids want to read. The books are always brand-new, and we let the educators closest to the children make the decisions about which titles their kids will respond to.

But all too often, kids from low-income neighborhoods — if they have books at all — have books with characters and stories that aren’t relevant to their lives. And that makes it harder to turn them on to reading.

So today we’re taking another big step to make sure we’re doing everything we can to turn those kids into readers. We’ve reached out to our friends in the publishing industry with an extraordinary offer.

As the centerpiece of our new OMG Books (Offering More Great Books) initiative, we’re stepping up with $500,000 to purchase hundreds of thousands of new books featuring voices that are rarely represented in children’s literature: minorities, characters of color, and others whose experiences resonate with the children we serve, characters and stories that are relevant to their lives.

The First Book MarketplaceWe already work closely with leading publishers to provide new books for teachers and program leaders serving children in need. Last year we purchased three million new books from major publishers, which we made available – at significant discounts – to the 50,000 schools and programs in our national network, through the First Book Marketplace.

At first, this approach seems unusual to some people. Why are we selling books to programs? Why aren’t we just giving them away?

Actually, we are giving books away — millions of them every year — through our National Book Bank program. But the First Book Marketplace is a different kind of innovation.

Through the First Book Marketplace, we’re aggregating the buying power of tens of thousands of Title I classrooms, after-school programs, homeless shelters and others serving the most vulnerable children. Those classrooms and programs may not have the funds to go into a bookstore and buy books at retail prices, but when they come together through First Book, they represent a real market for the publishing industry. Which, in turn, benefits by reaching new customers they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.

This new initiative is a big deal, and we’re excited! The offer is out to every leading publisher, and we’re already getting back proposals. We’ll share more news as soon as we have it.

NOTE: If you work for a publisher, or are just interested in fine print, check out the request here. All proposals welcome!

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Literacy, Marketplace, Social Entrepreneurship - Tagged , , , ,

You Made This Happen: 213,802 Books in the Hands of Kids

Jan04
2013 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

213,802 new books for kids in need

That’s right. Thanks to everyone who donated to First Book over the holiday season – and thanks to a generous matching offer from our friends at Disney – First Book was able to provide 213,802 brand-new, high-quality books to schools and programs serving children from low-income families across the country.

Thanks to all our supporters who helped make this happen!

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Supporters - 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 Distributions, 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 Distributions, First Book Supporters, Success Stories, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , ,
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