by Denise Gary
Photos by Zachary Fox and Alicia Vallee
With our warehouse renovations mostly behind us, we have had a busy February thanks to you—our generous supporters, book donors and Adopt a Book Box contributors! So far this month, we have sent brand new, beautiful books to From Our Shelves to Yours program applicants in California, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas … and we are still packing and sending! Thank you!
Take a look at the variety of recipients Kids Need to Read is supporting with your help:
iLead Pacoima (CA) is a charter school serving Pre-K–12, 96% of which qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. The books are being used to create a rolling library “for whole class, small group, and individual reading.” The books will also “support other academics such as math, science and history.”
San Lorenzo High School (CA) is located in a highly impoverished area with 75% of students on free and reduced lunch. The 9th grade English teacher requested books focused on “issues of social justice that inspire action and change.” She also remarked, “Currently, we do not have a book that features a female protagonist and female author. I would like to change that.”
Pompano Beach Elementary (FL) students “come from low-income homes that often do not have access to books, technology, or transportation.” The second grade teacher requested books for her students to read at home. “They need to read at home, however they don’t have the means on their own.” The teacher’s explanation of her funding shortage is a common theme among KNTR’s applicants: “I have put in thousands of dollars to my classroom over the last three years. I buy uniform clothes when my students don’t have clothes that fit and food when they’re hungry. It has been a priority to make sure that their basic needs are met. Unfortunately, my financial means have been stretched so far that I struggle with supplying books for my students to take home.”
Alex Hadey Academy (IL) is a Chicago Public School serving 70% Title I eligible students. The special education teacher requested “books for read-alouds, buddy reading and independent reading. … I believe having engaging reading books students can break down and talk about together will go a long way towards increasing love of learning, reading, and literacy in our classroom.”
Glacier Lake School (MT) is a private school located on the Flathead Indian Reservation for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes. The school serves grades Pre-K–12 and is working to expand its library. “Our local public library is small, underfunded, and only open a few hours a day. Many of our students have never had a library card. We all know books and literacy skills can transform lives. We also know Native American children are more at risk for a life in poverty, drug use, and incarceration. So we are growing our school library!”
Comanche County Health Department (OK) is working to encourage parents to read to their children through their book swap initiative. “We have provided a book nook for the children and teens to read while parents are waiting to be seen.” The state of Oklahoma is experiencing a large budget deficit, so the agency has to find other means to provide books to their low income clients.”
CenClear (PA), a child services organization, provides books to families of head start children living in rural parts of Pennsylvania, encompassing “mountainous terrain, long valleys, smaller ‘hollows’, and marginal road conditions. The rurality of the area and its inherent obstacles define and serve to exacerbate the problems of families using CenClear services.” The home visits include family literacy activities and training.
Windswept Academy (SD) is a private school on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation serving grades K–10. Located “in two of the poorest counties in the nation: Dewey and Ziebach Counties,” the school receives no government funding and is supported by donations. They were provided with class sets, as well as books to help update and expand their “limited and outdated library.”
Cornerstone Community Development Corporation (TX), an after school service organization assisting kids in K–6th grade, requested books for their African American Read-In. The books will be given to children to inspire them to read at home in this “minority low-income and underserved area.”
Previous Adopt a Book Box recipients include Mitchell Elementary School in Texas (“Our school was devastated by Hurricane Harvey…. We have lost every single item inside our building.”); First Mesa Elementary in Arizona, Hopi Nation (“Thank you so much for the shipment of books! The box[es] arrived this morning and the titles are fantastic, the kids will really enjoy them. Ku’naah!”); and Jacqueline & Joshua’s Reading Place in Georgia (“For many of the students, it is their FIRST book.”).
Thank you to everyone supporting Kids Need to Read and the Adopt a Book Box campaign! You make it possible for us to get more books out to the children who need them! We will continue to let you know where we have sent YOUR book boxes!
Please join us in providing books to children by adopting a book box or making a donation to Kids Need to Read.
Thank you to “From Our Shelves to Yours” funding partner:
Kathy and Jerry Wood Foundation
