Posts tagged West Virginia

Reconnecting McDowell: First Book Joins the Effort to Rescue a West Virginia Community

Dec16
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

“Our kids don’t get to have dreams, aspirations, hopes. They can’t even think about college; it’s not in their minds. That’s why these books are so important. Books are the beginning of everything. You learn about other places, you learn about the world.”

– Angela Fedele of the WE CAN Program, a statewide program based in Princeton, W.Va., that provides volunteer mentors for at-risk kids

Chandler Arnold, First Book's executive vice-president, talks with local kids in McDowell County, West Virginia

McDowell County, West Virginia, home to about 22,000 people, is one of the poorest counties in the state, and ranked last in education. Which is why First Book has joined a coalition of businesses, labor unions and nonprofits – more than 40 local, state and national groups altogether – who are working to change that.

For our part, First Book has pledged to provide a brand-new book to every student in McDowell County, books chosen by the local teachers and program leaders who work with the kids. And that’s just the beginning: We distributed 300,000 brand-new books in West Virginia in the last few years, and we’re working with almost 500 local classrooms and programs across the state. Every one of those kids is connected to an ongoing supply of new books through First Book.

“We’re here today because we want to level the educational playing field,” said Chandler Arnold, First Book’s executive vice-president, speaking yesterday at the kickoff ceremony in Charleston. “We want to ensure that the children of McDowell County have access to a steady supply of top-notch books and educational resources.”

AFT President Randi Weingarten shares a new book from First Book with a student in McDowell County , West VirginiaLean more about the project, led by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), at Reconnecting McDowell.

Help us get the word out, West Virginia! 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. And if you’d like to join one of our local volunteer groups, we’d love to hear from you.

Posted in Education, First Book Events, First Book Partners, Teachers, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , ,

Wanted: West Virginia Volunteers

Oct24
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book has been working hard to get new books to West Virginia kids this year. We distributed over 300,000 books to children from low-income families, and we joined forces with the American Federation of Teachers to ensure that those kids have access to an ongoing supply of new books.

We’re ready to do even more to help kids, parents, teachers and program leaders in West Virginia, and we want you to join us. We’re looking for volunteers in West Virginia to join local First Book advisory boards and help get new books to children in their community.

If you’d like to join us, drop us a line. And please pass this along to anyone you know in West Virginia who might want to get involved.

Posted in Advisory Boards, Teachers, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , ,

Country Roads, Take Me Home: First Book Goes All Out for West Virginia Kids

Sep07
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

“Our kids don’t get to have dreams, aspirations, hopes. They can’t even think about college; it’s not in their minds. That’s why these books are so important. Books are the beginning of everything. You learn about other places, you learn about the world.”

– Angela Fedele of the WE CAN Program, a statewide program based in Princeton, W.Va., that provides volunteer mentors for at-risk kids

Angela Fedele is one of the many teachers and program leaders who spend their days doing everything they can to help West Virginia’s kids. At First Book, our mission is to do everything we can to help people like Angela.

By signing up with First Book, Angela was able to provide $3,000 worth of new books for the children in her program, thanks to a combination of grant money and support from local First Book volunteers.

First Book Brings 300,000 Books to West VirginiaFirst Book works with programs across the country, but we have a special place in our hearts for West Virginia. We’ve provided 294,228 brand-new books to children in need across the state, and plan to distribute 14,000 more by the end of the summer, thanks in part to a federal grant from the Department of Education.

In addition, we’re launching a new partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to ensure that more kids have the books and resources they need. We’ll be announcing more details about this partnership soon, but we had a great kick-off last week in Charleston. Together with our friends at the AFT, we provided new books, along with grants to purchase more, to two local schools – West Side Elementary and Stonewall Jackson Middle School.

Help us get the word out, West Virginia! 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. And if you’d like to join one of our local volunteer groups, we’d love to hear from you.

Posted in Book Distributions, Book Recipients, First Book Events, First Book Partners, Teachers, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

How First Book Gained an Army of Warehouse Workers …

Mar09
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Boxes of books in a First Book warehouseWe move a lot of books at First Book. Over five million books last year, to schools and programs serving kids from low-income communities, and those cases of books are HEAVY.

Sometimes people assume we have a warehouse somewhere, maybe at our national headquarters in DC. We definitely do not. (Our staff is doubled up in many of our offices, so there is definitely no room for giant pallets filled with books. Not to mention the difficulty of driving great big trucks through the streets of our nation’s capital).

So where do all these books come from?

READ MORE »

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

Andrea and Nicole’s Big First Book WV Adventure!

May05
2010 Written by Guest Blogger

Not wanting to compete with Oprah and Gail’s 11 day, 3,600 mile trip across the country, we kept it simple!  We hit the road, for a 3 day, 900 mile trip through the Mountain State of West Virginia!  Our primary goal was to the spread the magic of books throughout the state by visiting with new and old friends in four dynamic cities! 

  • Bluefield -WV’s most elevated city-2655 feet above sea level!
  • Beckley-the home of Tamarack and the Exhibition Coal Mine!
  • Charleston-the illustrious state capitol!
  • Parkersburg-the savings bond capital of America! (Every U.S. Savings Bond bought or redeemed has passed through the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg since 1957.)

With a road trip, you must share the factoids you learned along the way. 

O.K., back to books…

Day 1, we connected with our existing Advisory Boards to host a training for Mercer and McDowell Counties and newly formed First Book-Tazewell County, VA (WV’s neighbor to the South).  Day 2, we traveled I-77N to host a Meet and Greet with new friends in Beckley to share with them the resources First Book could bring to their community.  And on Day 3, we held two “Starting Your Advisory Board” training sessions in Charleston and Parkersburg for the birth of two new Advisory Boards in West Virginia!

There are many Wild and Wonderful things happening in West Virginia! Most importantly, First Book is in the final year of a two-year U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Education to provide new books to children in need throughout the state of West Virginia.  As a generous part of the grant, First book is able to offer some special opportunities for programs in WV serving children in need to register with First Book to experience the magic.  For more information about the grant and for updates on incentive opportunities, please see www.firstbook.org/doewestvirginia.

We’d like to give huge kudos to the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia staff for making our trip a success-Kathrn K, Jarrod M, Scott F and S. Tuck, and a big thank you to Francis from Mary’s Cradle, Michelle with United Way of the Virginias and Daniel at the Dian-Lee House in Bluefield!

Posted in Advisory Boards, Book Recipients

Department of Education Grant to Benefit Programs in Maine and West Virginia

Aug24
2009 Written by Nicole T.

Thanks to the support of U.S. Senator Susan Collins (Maine) and U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (West Virginia), First Book received grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Education to provide new books to children in need throughout the states of Maine and West Virginia.

As a generous part of the grants, First Book is pleased to offer the following opportunities to all eligible Recipient Groups in Maine and West Virginia:

  • Through September 30, 2009, all groups in Maine and West Virginia that complete a purchase from the First Book Marketplace will receive a matching Marketplace site credit to be used towards a subsequent purchase. Up to $500 in a matching site credit will be issued at the end of the promotion period and must be spent by November 20, 2009.
  • While grant funds are available, all Recipient Groups in Maine and West Virginia that opt to have books shipped to them from a First Book National Book Bank distribution will not be charged the normal $0.35 per book shipping fee as the shipping cost will be paid for by the Department of Education Grant.

For more information about the grants and for updates on incentive opportunities, please see www.firstbook.org/maine and www.firstbook.org/doewestvirginia.

Posted in Book Distributions, Book Recipients, Marketplace - Tagged , ,