Posts in category Philanthropy

“Kids Can Have Their Own Books in Their Own Houses”

Aug21
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

The thing that I like about First Book is that kids can have their own books in their own houses that their parents can read to them, and, later, that they can read themselves.
– Jane Greene, First Book supporter

Jane Greene, longtime supporter of First BookJane Greene is a longtime supporter of First Book. She isn’t a wealthy philanthropist, but she is the kind of person that all good causes look for – a dedicated, constant cultivator of people and projects she believes in. She’s also someone who understands the importance of helping kids in need have new books to read.

“I always send books as baby gifts,” Greene said. “The value of reading and owning books has been in my life always.”

Greene works at a nonprofit as well, the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County in Maryland. (Two of the agency’s programs – Kensington Wheaton Youth Services and Bridges to Pals – actually work with First Book to get new books for their kids, although Greene actually found out about First Book during a promotional campaign with Borders bookstore.)

“The thing that I like about First Book is that kids can have their own books in their own houses that their parents can read to them, and, later, that they can read themselves,” Greene said.

“No gift is too small,” Green added. “I just decided to commemorate special occasions, acts of kindness and holidays by sending a little something to First Book.”

Not only have Greene’s contributions put brand-new books into the hands of kids from low-income families, she typically makes donations in the name of others, many of whom, when they find out about the gift and the work First Book does, go on to become supporters themselves. (It wasn’t easy to get Greene to agree to be profiled. “I was always the one behind the scenes,” she said. “That’s the way I like to influence and educate others.”)

Click here to donate to First BookFirst Book couldn’t do the work that we do without the open-hearted generosity of people like Jane Greene. Thanks, Jane! We’re glad you’re in our corner.

Click here to help get books to kids in need in your community by supporting First Book.

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Success Stories - Tagged , , , , , ,

First Book Earns Highest Possible Rating from Charity Navigator

Mar19
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

We’re proud to announce that First Book has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the highest possible ranking from America’s premier charity evaluator.

First Book Earns a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

“We’ve been putting new books into the hands of children and teachers for twenty years. The work that we do helps transform the lives of kids in need, and we’re delighted to be recognized by Charity Navigator. We want our donors to feel confident that we’re putting their hard-earned gifts to good use, and this rating proves that.”
– Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book

First Book Earns a Four-Star Rating from Charity NavigatorCharity Navigator rates nonprofit organizations to provide donors of all levels with reliable data about the impact, efficiency and fiscal health of the organizations.

At First Book, we work hard to make sure we’re creating the greatest possible impact as efficiently as we can, and we’re proud to have earned this distinction. We’re grateful to all of you for supporting our work, and we’re glad to show you that we’re using your donations responsibly.

Click here to donate! At First Book, 95 cents out of every dollar goes directly to putting news books into the hands of kids in need in communities across the country.

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

It’s Not Too Late to Give New Books to Kids in Need

Dec30
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Provide new books to kids in need by donating to First Book

Sunday is New Year’s Day, which means a lot of taking stock, figuring out what you want to do and how to finish all the things you meant to do last year.

We hope that one of the things you choose to do before the New Year is provide new books to kids in need by including First Book in your end-of-year giving.

Click here to donate now, and provide new books to kids in need

This year, with your help …

  • First Book distributed 8 million books to kids in need.
  • First Book added 7,000 new schools and programs to our national network.
  • First Book started local volunteer chapters in over a dozen communities.

The new books we distribute to schools and programs around the country do more than put smiles on the faces of children whose families can’t afford books of their own. They provide teachers, librarians and program leaders with the resources they need to transform these children’s lives.

We’re able to do all that we do because of the help and support of our donors and volunteers; we want to say thank you and ask you to continue supporting our mission.

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

It’s Not Too Late! You Can Provide New Books for Kids in Need This Christmas

Dec19
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Donate to First Book to provide new books to kids in need

First Book distributed eight million brand-new books to kids in need this year. That’s a LOT of books, and those books have the power to change a lot of lives.

And, with your help, we want to do even more in the year to come!

Donate now to provide new books to kids in need through First Book

Every $2.50 you donate goes to provide a brand-new book to a kid in need, helping them become a reader and changing their life. And your impact will go even further this year – through Dec. 31, our friends at Disney Publishing Worldwide will match every $1 donated with another new book. Pretty great stuff.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of First Book and the children who are counting on us.

Posted in Book Recipients, Literacy - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Giving Where It Works

Nov30
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

At First Book, we work hard to make an impact: we put over 8 million new books into the hands of kids in need across the country this year. And we’re mindful of how many amazing organizations there are out there, both nationally and locally, that could use your support.

So we were pleased to see the New York Times Opinionator blog list First Book today as a nonprofit that is making a major difference while staying on the difficult path towards self-sufficiency, describing our work as a “particularly good use of charitable dollars” (we agree) and “proven to work” (also true).

Commenting on the way First Book’s model marries “altruism and profit”, Tina Rosenberg writes:

If you give books to children who don’t have them, good things happen — they become interested in reading, and they read more. Having lots of books in the home is as good a predictor of children’s future educational achievement as their parents’ educational levels.

But good things also happen to the publishing industry: First Book has harnessed its large network of education programs to create a guaranteed market and persuade publishers to make low-cost versions of some 2,000 titles — allowing publishers to reach the 42 percent of American children who were not in their market before. Fifty dollars buys 20 books for a child who has none.

We hope you’ll support First Book this holiday season. Every $2.50 you give provides one new book for a child in need. It’s a great way for you to make sure your hard-earned and well-considered donation goes to support something that works.

Posted in Kyle Zimmer, Social Entrepreneurship - Tagged , , , ,

This Holiday Season, Give the Gift of Reading to Kids in Need

Nov21
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

If you’re like many of us, you grew up in a home filled with books, and so you understand how important it is for children to get excited about books and become enthusiastic, capable readers.

But there are 30 million kids in the United States who won’t have that chance, because most of them have no books of their own at home. At First Book, we’re working hard to change that, and with your help, we’re making a difference.

Click here to donate now, and help us get more books to more kids.

Every $2.50 you donate goes to provide a brand-new book to a kid in need. And your impact will go even further this year; through Dec. 31, our friends at Disney Publishing Worldwide will match every $1 donated with another new book.

Thank you so much for your continued support of First Book and the children we serve.

This Holiday Season, Give the Gift of Reading to Kids in Need With First Book

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

Feel Great, Do Good

Sep06
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

The goal of any great bedtime story is to inspire sweet dreams. Unfortunately, millions of children never have the opportunity to enjoy a bedtime story because they don’t have books to call their own.

First Book and our partner, philosophy ™, believe that every child deserves a bedtime story. That’s why philosophy™ just launched sweet dreams fresh cream shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath, with 100% of their net proceeds from the sale of this product going directly to First Book.

 

philosophy’s™ support is also making one particular book available – “My Life in Pink & Green”, by Lisa Greenwald. Thanks to philosophy, this title is now available on the First Book Marketplace.

What could be better than feeling and smelling wonderful, while helping to place books into the hands of children in need? Feel great, do good.

 

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

A Big Announcement … Disney Donates EIGHT MILLION BOOKS to First Book

Aug19
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Disney Donates 8 Million Books to First Book

We hope you’re sitting down, because we have some big news. Today at D23, the annual gathering of the world’s Disney fans, in Anaheim, Calif., our friends at Disney announced that they were donating 8 million new books to First Book. And we will put every single one of those books into the hands of kids in need.

Eight million books is a lot of books. To give you some idea of just how many, if you laid them all end-to-end, you would definitely give up and go home long before you were done. To give you an even better idea, First Book distributed 8 million books altogether last year; Disney’s incredible donation will allow us to do a lot more in the year ahead.

To top it off, Disney is also donating $500,000 to First Book, which will help us cover some of the many expenses involved in getting all those books out to schools and programs serving kids from low-income families around the country.

So a big THANK YOU to our friends at Disney, from all of us at First Book, and from all of the kids in all of the 27,000 programs in the First Book network!

Remember, if you work for a school or program that serves children from low-income families, or if you’d like to help your child’s teacher or program leader get new books, sign up with First Book.

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Partners - Tagged , , , ,

Shop at dd’s DISCOUNTS & Donate to First Book

Aug18
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Today’s guest blog post is from Julia Falkenstern, a Strategic Alliances coordinator at First Book. Julia works with First Book’s corporate partners to ensure that children from low-income families throughout the country have the opportunity to own new books.

This past Saturday marked the kickoff of the third annual dd’s DISCOUNTS in-store donation drive.  The back-to-school fundraiser provides brand new books through First Book to local programs serving children in need.

Each dd’s DISCOUNTS store is connected with a local group from First Book’s network of registered schools and programs that serve children from low-income families.  You can visit one of dd’s DISCOUNTS’ 78 locations across Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas to make a donation at the register that will directly support a program in the local community.

Now through September 5th, 100% of your donation will provide brand new, high quality books to the local program supported by your dd’s store.  dd’s DISCOUNTS is also matching donations, up to $25,000, to help even more children in dd’s communities discover the magic of reading.

For a list of dd’s DISCOUNTS locations, visit www.ddsdiscounts.com.

Tagged , ,

More Books to Kids! Help First Book Win $10,000 from The Case Foundation

Aug16
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Help First Book win $10,000 from the Case FoundationThe Case Foundation is celebrating the end of summer with a back-to-school sweepstakes on Facebook. The winning nonprofit will receive $10,000.

So if you want to help First Book get more books to more kids, visit the Case Foundation’s Facebook page and “like” them, then cast your vote for First Book. To sweeten the deal, you will also be entered to win a $500 gift card at the same time.

First Book doesn’t usually participate in contests like this, but we have a lot of respect for the Case Foundation and the work that they do, so we’re pleased to be one of the nonprofits chosen for this opportunity.

$10,000 lets us put four thousand new books into the hands of kids that need them, so please take a moment and vote for First Book! (Oh, and then use the handy “share” options to tell all your friends so they’ll vote for us too.)

Posted in Social Entrepreneurship - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
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