Posts tagged Target

Target to Give $5 Million to Schools; Vote for Your Neighborhood School!

Aug09
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Target has always been one of First Book’s most stalwart supporters. Their support for education in the United States is comprehensive and long-lasting.

Target to Give $5 Million to SchoolsNow they’ve embarked on an impressively gigantic new effort: $5 million for U.S. schools as part of their ‘$1 Billion for Education’ campaign. The giving campaign includes $2.5 million in grants for in-need schools and another $2.5 million in Target gift cards that local schools can use to pay for badly-needed back-to-school supplies.

If you want YOUR neighborhood school to win up to $10,000 in Target gift cards, vote for them on Target’s Facebook page. And if you work with kids at a Title I school, be sure to sign up with First Book to hear about grant opportunities like this one in the future!

Posted in Education, First Book Partners, Literacy - Tagged

Welcome to Summer! First Book Drops 150,000 Books on the National Mall

Jun19
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book joins the United Way's Day of Action on the National MallTuesday marks the first day of summer, and to celebrate their annual Day of Action, the United Way will be marshaling an army of volunteers to assemble summer reading backpacks for 50,000 elementary school kids from low-income communities.

First Book is proud to be a part of this amazing event, and we’re bringing our favorite thing to the party – books.
Every backpack will contain three brand-new books that the children who receive them will be able to keep. Many children from low-income families have no books of their own at home, so we’re grateful to have the opportunity to change that for so many kids.

If you’re out of school for the summer, or you’re able to take the day off work, we’d love to see you! Volunteers are welcome. Go online to learn more and register.

See you on the mall!

Posted in Book Distributions, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , ,

First Book Goes to Detroit

Mar24
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book Brings New Books to Detroit StudentsFirst Book was in Detroit this past week, distributing 50,000 new books to kids from low-income neighborhoods. The books were distributed to 50 schools in the Detroit metropolitan region.

“Our teachers are absolutely thrilled,” said Dan Maier of the YMCA Detroit Leadership Academy. “As a brand new school, we only have the required number of text books and these books are a godsend. It’s like Christmas in February.”

READ MORE »

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

First Book Holiday Countdown: Target

Dec16
2010 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

It’s snowing outside the First Book offices in downtown Washington DC today, which is a lovely reminder that the holiday season is nearly upon us. It is also a stressful reminder, since very few of us have done much Christmas shopping yet.

Fortunately, your friends at First Book have all kinds of great holiday gift ideas that do not involve you wrestling with desperate crowds of last-minute shoppers, and we’ll be sharing them with you from now until Christmas.

First up … a great offer from our friends at Target.

Without spending a penny, you can give the gift of reading to kids from low-income communities. Visit Target’s Facebook page and click on the Give Joy tab. Then put together your own wish list online and submit it. You’ll be automatically entered in a drawing for the chance to receive the items on your wish list, and – more importantly – for each list submitted, Target will donate $5 to First Book.

There are only two days left in this campaign, so get a move on!

And, after you build your wish list, don’t forget to take the Target Read With MeSM pledge to read with a child. Target Read With MeSM is an initiative aimed at helping more U.S. children read proficiently by the end of third grade. Target and First Book are calling on parents and caring adults to pledge to read with a child by visiting www.target.com/reading or texting READ to TARGET (827438).

For every pledge received, Target and First Book will donate a book to children in need, up to one million books!

Target 'Read With Me' First Book campaign

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

Thank You Thursday

Oct14
2010 Written by Becky H.

This week’s thank you is brought to you by the  students at Highlands Elementary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who received books through First Book’s partnership with Target.

First Book and Target have come together to place up to two million new books into the hands of children across the country.  Through Target Read With MeSM parents and caring adults can pledge to read with a child by visiting www.target.com/reading or by texting READ to TARGET (827438). Once one million pledges have been received, Target and First Book will distribute a total of two million books across the country.

Posted in General - Tagged ,

Bringing Books to Wheatley Education Campus

Oct11
2010 Erica Perl Written by Erica Perl

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Washington, DC’s Wheatley Elementary School as part of Target’s new initiative, Read With MeSM. I was particularly excited to attend this event as the principal, Scott Cartland, was the former principal of my children’s school, Janney Elementary.  Two years ago, he left Janney Elementary to turn the then-failing schools of Webb and Wheatley into a place where children could excel in the classroom and beyond.

Students and their new books at Wheatley Education Campus

That first year I volunteered by teaching creative writing to a small group of seventh graders.  At that time, the school felt more like a prison than a school; a dilapidated building echoing with the sound of disruptive students. The kids I taught, though, were pretty amazing and Scott Cartland had the capacity to see potential in all of his students.  He also had the leadership skills to set goals, expectations, traditions and opportunities in a place where, formerly, there had been none.  Reading scores rose steadily, and “respect” became the school’s guiding rule.  Meanwhile, the District of Columbia Public Schools transformed another building and moved into the beautiful new space.

Target and First Book staff at Wheatley Education Campus

Our celebration at Wheatley was beautiful for so many reasons:  all the gorgeous kids, excited about their new books (one kid yelled “Flat Stanley!  Yesssss!!!”), all the proud and dedicated teachers and staff, all the helpful volunteers, and First Book and Target working together to provide new books to deserving children – it felt like magic. But I was particularly struck by how far this one school has come from where it was, and how much farther these kids will go thanks to caring, involved people like Scott Cartland, Target, and a LOT of great books.

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

First Book and Target Celebrate the Launch of Target Read With Me with the Donation of 1 Million Books

Sep30
2010 Written by Mary Beth F.

We are thrilled to announce that First Book is donating one million new books to elementary school students across the country in celebration of the launch of Target Read With MeSM.

When Target was looking for a partner to help make this unprecedented book distribution possible, they came to First Book and together we are distributing new books to schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia!  As you read this, thousands of schools across the country are receiving their part of the one million book distribution.  We’ve been so excited to share this announcement with you, but our lips have been sealed until now.

Target Read With MeSM celebrates Target’s continued commitment to reading and education and calls upon parents and caring adults to pledge to read with a child by visiting www.target.com/reading or by texting READ to TARGET (827438). Once one million pledges have been received, Target will donate an additional one million books, for a total donation of two million books across the country.

Together, First Book and Target are working to give students a brighter future by eliminating the key barrier to literacy – access to books.

To learn more about Read With MeSM and to make your pledge, please visit www.target.com/reading.  To register your school or program with First Book to gain access to free and low-cost books, please visit www.firstbook.org/register.

Check back soon for stories and testimonials from parents, students and educators who have received books from this exciting distribution!

Posted in Book Distributions, First Book Partners - Tagged ,

Target and First Book Make Some Noise in School Libraries!

Oct05
2009 Written by Mary Beth F.

Target logoFall has officially arrived, and with that marks the launch of the 2009 Target Volunteer School Library Makeover!  Target is once again teaming up with First Book to provide books for school library projects across the country through the Target Volunteer School Library Makeover.

Throughout September and October, Target Volunteers will award more than 1,600 Title I schools across the country new books and at many schools will provide volunteer help to shelve new books, organize, clean and more.  In support of this project, Target has partnered with First Book to provide a $500 credit on the First Book Marketplace to each participating school.  The librarians and educators have selected books that best meet the needs of their school.

To learn more about this project — and to see a library makeover in action — visit www.target.com/libraries.  Be sure to check back in the coming weeks as we post more exciting updates from library makeovers across the country!

Posted in Book Recipients, First Book Events, Marketplace - Tagged ,

Target Takes Education on the Road

Sep17
2009 Written by Mary Beth F.

Target logoAs schools across the country throw open their doors to millions of smiling and anxious faces this fall, Target is helping to ensure that these smiles are not dampened by our challenging economic climate.

Since 2006, Target’s Field Trip Grants program has promoted the importance of enhancing students’ studies outside the classroom by providing more than 729,000 students with the opportunity to go on a field trip. With 5,000 grants of up to $800 now available, Target is seeking to “Take Education on the Road” by covering the cost of transportation, entry fees, supplies and resource materials for classroom field trips. Educators are encouraged to apply online at Target.com/fieldtrips through November 3, 2009 for the opportunity to receive funding.

This effort continues Target’s ongoing commitment to supporting education and bolstering communities. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks to hear about First Book’s exciting work with Target this fall in Title I schools across the country!

Posted in General, Literacy - Tagged ,

Odds and Bookends: September 11

Sep11
2009 Written by Nisha T.

Target Volunteers School Library Makeover
Target, First Book and the Heart of America Foundation have teamed up to provide books to children in need across the United States. Target kicked off the project this week on September 10 as part of the United We Serve initiative.

National Library Card Sign-up Month Begins
September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, a month dedicated to encouraging children to take advantage of all the resources their local library has to offer. The American Library Association began this initiative in order to highlight this free service to children and their parents.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week
Don’t forget! This upcoming week is the Second Annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week. The week will last from September 14 through the 18. Blogs are judged based on quality of writing, category originality and diversity of content, visual aesthetic and functionality, as well as audience engagement.

JK Rowling to be featured in her own comic book
World-renowned author, JK Rowling is the subject of a new comic book which is due to come out this December. Bluewater Comics has also published a graphic novel about Twilight author Stephanie Meyer and is expected to choose two more female figures for future publications.

Happy Birthday Jon Scieszka and Jack Prelutsky!
Beloved children’s book authors Jon Scieszka and Jack Prelutsky celebrated their birthdays this past Tuesday September 8. Jon Scieszka is the author of the Trucktown series as well as The Stinky Cheese Man. Jack Prelutsky is known for his book The Frogs Who Wore Red Suspenders and others.

Posted in Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , ,