By Gary Mlodzik
Photographs by Denise Gary
When I call a library in a high poverty community and offer the Grow Your Library program, which includes 200 books for the library, along with a story time event and books for participating children to keep—all free of charge—the response goes one of two ways: happy for the large donation or overwhelmed by the daunting amount of work that encumbers a small staff to prepare the books to put them into circulation. What does 200 books look like? STACKS!
When the call was made to Adrea Ricke at the Globe Public Library (Arizona) and the book offer was made, her response was perfect: “This is awesome! We are so excited and thankful!”
With further discussion, it was found the library was in dire need of non-fiction books for the local kids to write reports at school. The local elementary and high schools do not have libraries of their own, so the public library must be the source for information. The kids in Globe have a lot of information for report writing now! In addition to the 200 library books Kids Need to Read initially offered to provide, over 150 nonfiction books were funded by a generous grant from Phoenix based Libraries, Ltd. Promoting literacy in Arizona children and teens by providing books to libraries, schools and other organizations is Libraries, Ltd’s specialty. The small nonprofit was founded by Judy Goddard, former first lady of Arizona.
After arrangements were made, a special Grow Your Library story time event for children was hosted by the Globe Public Library. Twenty five children paid close attention as Tina Mlodzik presented Starfish on the Beach. The moral of the story is that even small efforts can be made by anyone to make a positive difference in the world.
After the story, Gary Mlodzik asked the children who wanted to make a difference in their library by donating a book—the hands came up quickly! Gary explained how each child could have a book donated with their own name on a book plate in the inside front cover of a book just by sending a quick email to KNTR telling their name, age, and what they like to read. The child’s gift to the library!
The Grow Your Library event included a raffle where one lucky child received an Arizona Coyotes string backpack containing a copy of Starfish on the Beach, a plush starfish, and a real starfish. Each child in attendance was allowed to choose a book to take home and a Highlights magazine. One little girl asked Tina, “Do I get to keep this book forever?” The children were very excited to start reading!
The Kids Need to Read “Grow Your Library” program will visit three more libraries in 2017: Castle Rock, Washington; Vale, Oregon; and Homedale, Idaho. A donation such as the one presented to Globe Public Library has a value over $3,700 and is made possible entirely by donations. If you would like to support this continued endeavor, please make your contribution to Kids Need to Read.
