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by BFK board member Deirdre Sugiuchi
(part of a monthly series)

When I first heard of Books for Keeps, I was a school library media specialist at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School. Melaney Cook-Smith had just piloted the organization at Alps Road Elementary. I knew that my students loved books and loved reading books but often did not have reading materials at home. I knew that the reason I was a strong reader was because I grew up in a home with lots of books. I wanted my students at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary to have the same opportunities.

It took a few years before there was funding for Oglethorpe to be a part of Books for Keeps, but once OAES was involved, the day they visited was hands down the favorite day of the year. My students loved being able to choose their own books, put them in their own book bag, and take them home to keep and read over and over. As soon as we got back to school in the fall, they would ask me when Books for Keeps was coming, even though they knew Books for Keeps wouldn’t visit until May. They were that excited about having their own books to read.

Recently I left education to focus on writing, but I was a school library media specialist for over a decade. I’ve always been passionate about getting kids excited about reading. Once I left teaching I knew I still wanted to be involved in promoting reading in Athens-Clarke County and Georgia at large. Joining the Books for Keeps board seemed like the best and most effective way I could make a difference.

I believe in Books for Keeps because I have seen the difference it makes. [...]

Donate time, donate treasure, or set up a Facebook fundraiser, and help us raise $20,000 in ONE DAY.
“We’re not participating in Giving Tuesday this year because it’s just gotten too big.”

We see this a lot from fellow nonprofit organizations as the joint holiday / giving season approaches. And we get it.

Giving Tuesday has gotten big. It’s now a global movement with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations participating across 60 countries. It’s a day of focused, almost frenzied generosity, leveraging our very human desire to be part of a group and identify with a common cause.

Here in our corner of the world, Giving Tuesday is big for us. In 2018, Books for Keeps raised $14,300 in just 24 hours on Giving Tuesday (which now coincides with Georgia Gives Day).

This year, we’re setting our sights on raising $10,000 from individuals and businesses on Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, to meet a $10,000 matching challenge from past and present BFK board members. You read that right – our past and current board members will be matching every dollar until we reach our goal of $10,000 on that day. That’s a combined $20,000 toward a REALLY BIG year-end goal to raise $90,000 needed to stay on track for our first program expansion in two years.

As the clamor for donations and contributions on this day of giving has reached fever pitch, though, many folks feel that they’re being hit over the head – repeatedly – by solicitations.

It’s why we’re being careful, selective, and targeted about how (and when) we remind our supporters and followers about Giving Tuesday. We’re scheduling our monthly MailChimp newsletter to hit inboxes on Giving Tuesday this year so that – instead of reminder emails, plus our [...]

For most people, the WHAT is a no-brainer.

Books are easy to get behind. It’s easy to grasp the importance of reading and literacy in building a successful life. Almost everyone who works with us – from staff to donors to volunteers to board members – can point to a way that books (or one single book) transformed their lives.

So, books – and making them easy to get access to – are the easy part for us to sell.

It’s all of the other details that get stickier. The WHY’s.

Why 12 books? (Because the research we founded our program on points to this as the sweet spot for moving literacy skills during summer.)

Why give them away rather than loan them? (Because pride of ownership and removing the fear of losing or damaging a book liberate many children and families to truly embrace this process.)

And then we come to the big question. The question we’ve been driving toward and aligning strategy around for the past five years: 

Why those schools?

Each school we serve is high-need. Every single one. We started out at just a few schools here in Athens that represent the most extreme need: 90 percent or more free/reduced-price lunch. As we grew outside of Athens, we targeted schools in Atlanta and in rural areas with the same characteristics.

And a few years later we set our sights on a big goal: to serve every child attending a Clarke County elementary school.

We’re finally fulfilling that goal this year – reaching every single child in grades K through 5 at all 14 elementary schools in Athens.

We couldn’t be more excited, and we want you to be excited too – here’s WHY.

Our home county has a lot of need. With [...]

This is it.

This year and this milestone were a distant goal four years ago when Books for Keeps adopted its first true strategic plan. It was a pipe dream when I was hired six years ago. And when Melaney Smith, our founder, gave away the first books to a group of second-graders at Alps Road Elementary School in 2009, this was but a twinkle in her eye.

So it has been exhilarating to roll out this news with stakeholders over the past several months and to share it here: as of spring 2020, Books for Keeps will be in all 14 Athens-Clarke public elementary schools – serving a total of 20 schools across 4 Georgia counties.

That means if you have a child in Kindergarten through fifth grade at a Clarke County elementary school – no matter where he or she attends – that child will get to choose 12 books to bring home at the end of this school year. We’re meeting with parents at Chase and Timothy Road elementary schools in the coming weeks to share this news directly with them.

We’re also sharing this news on the heels of a banner year.

500,000 books given away since 2009! Celebrating 10 years!

But by golly, we’re gonna need all the help this community can muster to meet this goal. We need to raise an additional $40,000 from new sources and new commitments to make this a reality.

Is that a really big number for an organization with a budget of less than $500,000 and just three employees? It sure is.

Is it eminently possible? Yes – but only with the help of this incredible community that has helped us grow from a twinkle of an idea into a full-fledged, [...]

(part of a new monthly series)

How did you first hear or learn about Books for Keeps?

My employer, Wells Fargo. Our office volunteers each year at book distribution.

How long have you been volunteering or serving with Books for Keeps?

I have been on the board since January 2019.

Why did you choose to serve on the Books for Keeps’ board?

This organization has such a worthwhile mission and accomplishes it in such a fun way. I definitely wanted to be a part of it.

Have you had an inspiring/memorable interaction with a student since working with Books for Keeps? (This can be a direct interaction or something you observed.) If so, tell us about it.

This was my first book distribution season, and I already can’t wait for next year. I absolutely loved the students’ pure joy and excitement. It’s endearing to see kids dragging their bags while they’re still picking out even more books.

Have you worked with other non-profits in the past? Which ones?

We are fairly new to the area, but my husband and I support various groups particularly through Franklin College at UGA. We moved from IL, and there I was heavily involved in Rotary, the hospital foundation, the Chamber of Commerce and Western Illinois University.

What strengths are you bringing to Books for Keeps?

I have a lot of experience volunteering and being an active board member with a variety of groups. Also, I bring a different perspective being relatively new to the area.

Do you have a keen childhood memory related to a particular book? Or an experience with reading – to yourself or to a loved one?

I’m the youngest of 5, so I had several family members that would read to me and I was fortunate to have [...]