These stories are real-life examples of how your clicks are helping children around the world. We hope you enjoy learning more about how you, Room to Read , and First Book are working to make the world a better place.
Our Mission
Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.
Books for Children
The time has come for more exciting and relevant children's literature in their local languages so that children in the developing world have the same opportunities that many of us had growing up surrounded by children's books, either at home, at school, or in our local public library. Our Local Language Publishing Program provides children with materials that will inspire them to read, to expand their minds, and to develop a lifelong love for reading and learning. Many of the books we publish are bilingual English/local language children's books and are especially beneficial to children because they can be used throughout a child's development.
Building Schools
Adequate schools are often scarce in the rural areas of the developing world, a factor that contributes to continuing poverty and lack of economic development. It is not uncommon for young children to walk several hours each way just to attend school. Through our School Room Program, Room to Read partners with local communities to build several types of schools to meet the specific needs of each village and culture. Our model of community ownership produces a deep sense of commitment and a lasting impact on education in rural areas.
To learn more, please visit: Room to Read
.
Since its launch in November 2004, visitors to The Literacy Site have helped generate over 1.6 million new books for children from low-income families. Our non-profit partner First Book helps convert clicks at The Literacy Site into actual books in the hands of children.
In September of 2007, The Literacy Site hosted a Back to School Click Challenge to provide even more books for children in need. Visitors to The Literacy Site rose to the challenge and generated an additional 20,000 brand new books, donated by First Book and Pi Beta Phi, to disadvantaged children in the St. Louis area.
A member of Pi Beta Phi readying books for distribution.
During October, First Book staff members and volunteers from Pi Beta Phi worked together to distribute the 20,000 beautiful books generated from The Literacy Site to programs serving children in need in the greater St. Louis area. From organizing shipments to labeling and lifting boxes, Pi Phi members helped get thousands of new books out of the warehouse and into the hands of the kids who need them. The books included titles about ballerinas, princesses, farmers, and firefighters, which will help spark the imaginations of thousands of children.
Thanks to your clicks, and the support of Pi Phi and The Literacy Site, First Book is able to place new books into the hands of children who need them the most.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated millions of communities on the Gulf Coast, First Book launched Book Relief in an unprecedented effort to provide 5 million new books to the children and families who lost so much in the 2005 hurricanes and to organizations involved in rebuilding. Book Relief has already distributed more than 3 .5 million new books in the five Gulf States and to programs serving evacuees in an additional 16 states.
Here are just a few of the many Gulf Coast children that have been touched by First Book's Book Relief program:
Allysia - First Grade
Alice Harte Elementary School/Algiers Charter School
New Orleans, LA
Alyssia and her family evacuated to the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.
"I like Dr. Seuss books a lot. Life without books would be horrible. We need books so we can learn how to read and practice. If we don't have books to practice, how are we going to get good at reading?"
Jay - Fifth Grade
Gulfview Elementary School
Hancock County, MS
Now living in a trailer after the hurricane destroyed his home, Jay looks forward to coming to school to be with his friends.
"I like to read all kinds of books: mysteries, The Hardy Boys, and The Magic Treehouse especially. Reading gives you something fun to do in your spare time, and now I don't have a lot of other things that I can do so I have more time to read. Since the hurricane, all of my friends are living in different places, so we don't always get to see each other if we're not in school. It's nice then to have a book to read."
Kimmy - Fifth Grade
Gulfview Elementary School
Hancock County, MS
Kimmy's family was perhaps one of the lucky ones. Their home was flooded and suffered severe roof damage. The only things they could salvage inside the house were a few yearbooks. But their house is being repaired, and they can live in it. Still, the community and school are completely different for Kimmy and her friends.
"Reading stretches my memory and gives me good thoughts that I might not get to think about. Since the storm we've learned that stuff we thought we didn't care for anymore, we still miss when it's gone. Like our school in our old building we had big classrooms. Now, in the trailers our classrooms are much smaller. Also, we don't have a playground anymore, so there's no place to play and no more recess. But we do have books, lots of books to read, which is nice."
To learn more about Book Relief or to make donations, please visit: First Book
.
