Hey everyone!
I’m sure by now everyone’s jumped on the bandwagon of celebrating and discussing today’s date. 11.12.13 is one of the last sequential dates I’ll see in my lifetime and I’m not the only one. Most of today’s population won’t see another date sequence after next year’s 12.13.14. This makes today’s date kind of special and definitely talked about (just check Twitter!).
Since today’s date is ringing a chord with a lot of people, it got me thinking of what I could write about today. What do I want my post for today to be about? Of course, this post won’t be a popular turn up on the search engine when someone in the future Googles this date, but this post will play some part in chronicling history–as everyone’s blogs, journals, and vlogs will. We live in a high technology and almost fully-focused on internet society. No longer will just newspapers be documenting history. Everyone’s thoughts, ideas, and creations are now a part of that documentation.
So what will I leave on this particularly interesting and special day?
I want to leave a semi-call to action. I love literature (no real surprise) and I want to let you in on ways people are helping spread literacy right now. These organizations are helping those in need gain access to my most precious possessions: books. These books not only help grow some one’s intelligence and intellect, they help one escape the drags of ordinary day to day. They let you enter new worlds and go on great adventures. You can fall in love, travel across the world, understand another person’s way of life, defeat that dragon–metaphoric or literal. This is the magic of books and these organizations are helping spread that magic.
First book provides access to books for children in need. The books are donated throughout the US and Canada to programs and schools serving low-income families. Along with books, First Book also assists with donating educational resources. To date, over 100 million books and resources have been donated through this organization.
First Book is focused on impact: we leverage the work of heroic teachers, give volunteers the tools they need, and help raise reading scores. Recently, a principal reported that First Book allowed her teachers and volunteers to elevate quality, create a culture of reading, and increase Academic Performance Index by 107 points. This is th change we are delivering” – Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book
For more information on First Book’s impact, check out this page.
Reach Out And Read is a non-profit organization of medical providers who donate books nationwide to children. They promote early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms throughout the country. Today, the organization partners with nearly 5,000 program sites and distributes 6.5 million books per year. Along with donating books, Reach Out And Read tries to educate parents on the importance of literacy and lends advice to help.
For more information on Reach Out And Read’s impact, visit this page.
Book Aid International focuses on increasing access to books in sub-Saharan Africa. Along with donating books, Book Aid International also supports literacy, education, and development int multiple countries and cities within Africa. During their 50 year history, over 30 million books have been sent to Africa. Each year Book Aid International supports more than 2,000 libraries–extending their reach to at least 2.5 million people.
Books change lives.
For More information on Book Aid International’s impact, visit this page here.
Books For Africa is another organization dedicated to enriching the lives of people living in Africa. The organization collects, sorts, ships, and distributes books to students of all ages in Africa. Since 1988, Books For Africa has shipped over 28 million books to 49 different countries. Last year they shipped 2.2 million books to 22 African countries, along with 616 computers and 15 brand new law libraries.
We try to run a lean and efficient organization so that our energy and funding are devoted to our mission: ending the book famine in Africa. –Patrick Plonski, executive director of BFA
For more information on Books For Africa’s impact, visit this page.
Books for the Barrios is a not-for-profit California corporation run by volunteers that focuses on aiding the literacy in the Philippines, especially in the remote barrio area. The corporation collects school English reading books and educational learning aids and delivers them to public schools in the Philippines. The organization has since expanded to include donations to Mexico, Honduras, and Bhutan. To date, Books for the Barrios has sent over 12 million books, trained teachers in a modern method of teaching and established over 50 Model-of-Excellence schools, helping millions of children throughout the world. With the recent typhoon that devastated the Philippines only a few days ago, I can’t help but think that Books for the Barrios will play a pivotal role, along with other organizations, in helping rebuild this country.
For more information on Books for the Barrios’ impact, visit this page.
What other book charities do you know about? Share below in the comments! Also, always try and look for local book drives as well!
As always,
Happy Reading!
xo,
NicoleLynn
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