If you want to learn more about who needs donated books, look no further!
Whenever kids go back to school, there are a plethora of posts about back to school supplies, outfits, and accessories.
For some reason, I just think about books.
Not text books, mind you, but all the awesome fiction and non-fiction books someone would find at the library or a book store.
And as I catalog all of the books I have loved since I was little, I start thinking about sharing that love of reading with others.
So, what better way to do that then to showcase three important literacy programs?
All three of the programs below not only want to support a child’s ability and interest in reading, but are doing everything they can to innovate around how to engage with at-risk children in their communities.
These Wonderful Literacy Programs Need Your Help
Saddle Up & Read
If you ask my mom, she’ll tell you my love of reading may have started in elementary school, but it wasn’t an easy road.
The family lore is that my mom came home with a stack of books from the school book fair and said (in so many words or less), “You will read these. Period, the end.”
And not one to argue with my mom, I read them all, and I loved them. I became (and still am) an avid reader. But I realize my situation was one of timing.
When some children don’t have a love of reading it isn’t always a lack of desire, but more so not feeling confident in one’s skills.
So I was really excited to learn about Saddle Up and Read. Here is their story:
Saddle Up And Read is, “on a mission to encourage youth to achieve literary excellence through equine activities.
In 2017, founder Caitlin Gooch noticed the literacy rates in North Carolina were low. Caitlin acted immediately by creating an incentive with a local library.
As a prize for reading, this incentive included a day at her father’s horse farm. The only requirement was for children to check out 3 or more books from the library. It turned out to be a great success which led to Saddle Up And Read.”
How To Help Saddle Up and Read
There are a variety of ways you can support Saddle Up and Read’s mission.
Like most nonprofits, you can make a donation, but they also welcome new and used books. They even have an Amazon wish list if you need some book ideas.
If the maker in you wants to donate a handmade item, they welcome simple totes to use for holding book for the kids!
Don’t have time to make a tote, but looking to de-stash some small totes that you already have? They’d love those too.
Please email them to learn more and confirm their current needs – info@saddleupandread.org.
Promising Pages
Promising Pages is dedicated to supporting the children of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Their mission is, “to provide ownership of books to underserved children and cultivate a lifelong love of reading through innovative literacy programs and partnerships.
Fueled by studies showing that children who can’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, Promising Pages provides direct classroom programming and more than 190,000 free books annually, making us Charlotte’s largest and most efficient distributor of upcycled books aimed at addressing this critical – and solvable – community need.”
I learned about Promising Pages in 2016 and, at the time, their programming included book parties with bookworm mascots and take-home books for each of the children.
Now, they have expanded their programs even more and their outreach includes the following programs: community partners, “Books On Break“, Feed the Body, Feed the Mind, Diverse Book Infusion, and Bookwork Bootcamp.
How To Help Promising Pages
Promising Pages would welcome your help in the following ways:
- book donations,
- hosting a book drive,
- volunteering in the Operations Center,
- hosting a book birthday party,
- hosting a donation bin, and
- making a wish list purchase.
Eight Children’s Books I Always Recommend
As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase a book using the links below.
Who Needs Book Donations In Your Area?
While I appreciate all of the nationally recognized organizations that focus on early education and literacy, I am committed to sharing more of these hyper-local nonprofits making a difference.
It is these organizations that will continue to have a pulse on the immediate needs and shift their programs accordingly.
I know that Saddle Up and Read and Promising Pages are only two of a plethora of innovative literacy programs in cities across the United States.
So if you know of one I should add to my running list of nonprofits to feature, please share in the comments below.