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Posts in the Book Relief Category
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Book Relief: More than 5 Million Books to the Gulf Coast
August 31st, 2007
Lynda L.
Leave a Comment »On August 21, we wrapped up our two-year effort to bring five million new books to the communities impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. We not only met but exceeded our goal, with a total of more than 5.1 million books distributed!
We celebrated this accomplishment with an event at the New Orleans Public Library, where sixty students from Martin Behrman Charter Elementary School in New Orleans joined us, along with community members, local and national dignitaries, and representatives from some of our corporate and publishing partners — without whom we could not have made this happen!
From the moment we boarded the plane on Monday, I knew this would be a momentous occasion filled with lots of special moments. And I wasn’t wrong. The flight to Louisiana brought back some poignant memories for me and I’m sure for every First Book staffer who was able to make at least one visit to the Gulf Coast during the past two years.
Significant progress has been made in removing the blue tarps from the roofs of damaged homes that stood out like giant waves, greeting travelers as they approached the NOLA airport. The tarps are mostly gone now but unfortunately, it means the homes were demolished and the land cleared of rubble that more often than not included families’ hopes, dreams and lives that can never be replaced.
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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.
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A Book Relief Story
May 9th, 2007
Dr. Frances Weiler
Leave a Comment »Guest blogger Dr. Frances Weiler, is the principal of North Bay Elementary School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
August 29, 2005 changed the world — at least it changed my world. My home, my school, and my community were essentially destroyed. Thousands of homes were swept away by the fury of Hurricane Katrina, and thousands more were damaged beyond repair.
Schools did not escape the destruction. Along with the forceful winds, Katrina swept ten feet of water over North Bay Elementary which knocked out exterior and interior walls, flooded all books, records and instructional materials, and left our school community in ruins. Those ruins are still in view every day. We can see it out the windows of our temporary classrooms; our school buses pass it as they transport our students to and from school. And destruction is still visible everywhere in our community.
Like Charles Dickens wrote, “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” August 29 was certainly our worst, and those days after August 29 were filled with many anxieties.
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New Orleans Book Distribution
April 9th, 2007
Stephanie R.
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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.
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Thank you, Kit!
April 2nd, 2007
Katie B.
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Kit arrives at her surprise party.
It was with mixed emotions that the First Book staff gathered for a surprise farewell luncheon for our dear colleague, Kit Lunney. After four years at First Book, there was much to celebrate and reminisce over, through laughter and a few tears.
Kit has been instrumental in so many aspects of First Book’s work, but over the last two years, she has been the backbone of the Book Relief initiative — helping to lead the organization in our commitment to place 5 million new books back into the Gulf Coast region in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes.
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First Book Appreciated in Louisiana
January 23rd, 2007
Matthew W.
Leave a Comment »We recently received this email from a Recipient Group in Louisiana:
Hello Friends at First Book,
I just wanted to let you know how important First Book has been to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
I was the Assistant Director in Plaquemines Parish La. where the eye of Katrina crossed over first. We lost our home and all our belongings. I have relocated to Rapides Parish
(Alexandria) La. where I was blessed to find a great job here at the library.Rapides has received and distributed hundreds of First Books to evacuees and I have sent them back with my grandchildren when they returned to St. Bernard, La. (another area hit hard by Katrina). For a while after Katrina, these were the only books they had, having lost theirs in the storm.
I thought that you should know that the books are getting in to the hands of those who need them and that they are appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tammy DiBartolo
Youth Services Manager
Rapides Parish Library -
Book Relief Along the Gulf Coast
December 20th, 2006
Kit L.
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Anna and I just completed a four day, 750 mile, trip along the Gulf Coast for a series of meetings and events. As our flight left National Airport last week for the 2 ½ hour trip to Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans we were both nervous and excited about what we would find and learn during our trip.
Day 1 – Biloxi – From the Beau Rivage to Borders
The weather report was for brief showers that would dwindle toward evening. Two hours later, on I-10 somewhere near the Mississippi/Louisiana border in the midst of torrential rains, we began to question the accuracy of the report. We arrived in Biloxi with only minutes to spare. I dropped Anna at Borders in the Edgewater Mall and headed down Highway 90 to the Beau Rivage.
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First Book… or First Video?
October 4th, 2006
Kevin M.
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Here at the First Book office in Washington, D.C., we get a bit confused sometimes. You’ve heard all the terms before — Book Relief, National Book Bank, Literacy Site — and now there’s one more for you to remember: “Learning Libraries.” But wait… Learning Libraries don’t come with books? What’s going on here?
Two weeks ago, as part of our Book Relief initiative, we completed a distribution of nearly 1,800 Learning Libraries to groups on the Gulf coast that were affected by the 2005 hurricanes. Each Learning Library consisted of one TV/VCR (donated by Funai) and twenty educational videos (donated by Disney).
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Over 170,000 Books Distributed for Book Relief!
October 3rd, 2006
Kelly S
Leave a Comment »During the week of September 25th, staff and volunteers worked together to distribute over 170,000 new children’s and adult books to more than 110 organizations throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Texas as part of our Book Relief initiative.
This distribution was conducted out of Merchants Cold Storage warehouse in Hattiesburg, Mississippi — many thanks to these folks to making this distribution possible by donating this warehouse space and the generous time and energy of the staff! Over the course of this distribution, we officially reached three million books distributed through Book Relief.
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Fearless on the Gulf Coast
September 21st, 2006
Kit L.
1 Comment »The First Book office is in a central location in downtown Washington, DC, and the options for how to spend a lunch hour are endless. One of my favorite things to do is to visit book stores, particularly for author readings and book signings.
I had heard that Arianna Huffington was going to be in town earlier this week to promote her new book, On Becoming Fearless, and decided to go, meet her and buy the book. I was intrigued by the topic. I have always felt that if you could envision something it could be achieved, but the problem is getting started, taking those first uncomfortable steps, putting aside whatever fears are holding you back.
