Books for Keeps blog

The following is a guest blog post by board member Kathy Poss, and part of our monthly board member spotlight series. Kathy is a retired school nurse and Elbert County resident, and the mother of two educators in area counties. As someone who hails from a family of educators for whom books have played a central role, she believes heartily in the importance of Books for Keeps.

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One day a few years ago my friend Joan Prittie asked me to lunch. She told me about Books for Keeps and how it was expanding to Elbert County. I later joined the Board.

What a great opportunity to encourage and improve reading skills in children. I have always enjoyed books but realize not all kids have access. Call of the Wild and White Fang fascinated me as a young reader. Biographies were favorites. Clara Barton, Florence Nightengale, George Washington Carver were a few summer books.

I can’t pinpoint a pivotal book in my youth but I vividly remember reading The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. The Razor’s Edge was in the headboard at my grandmother’s house, so I read it.  This summer I am reading John Adams and probably some historical selections. Though I can’t do it all, I adore DIY books.

My grandmother finished high school at 16 and became a one-room school teacher in a very rural area.  Some of her children were named for book characters. This was evidence of her love for reading.

My mother loved poetry and tried her hand at writing poetry.  The thing that reading did for my family was widen a world that had physical boundaries into a broad rich world of idea.

In a very small town we [...]

The following is a guest blog post by board member Stephen Nobles, and part of our monthly board member spotlight series. Stephen joined the Books for Keeps board in January of this year, and by day, he serves as program registrar and data specialist with the Clarke County School District.

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Books for Keeps for me has been a dream come true. Not a personal dream for me today at my current age – but a dream that I had as a child who had a love for reading and a true belief in the power of books. I WISH when I was a child something like Books for Keeps existed!! I knew very little about the organization but was immediately intrigued when I learned about their mission, goals, and the work they had been doing for children throughout the state of Georgia!
I know first hand the benefits that come along with a love for reading. Those benefits go so far beyond the words in the books. My mother was a huge advocate for literacy and literature and she instilled those same core values in me.

I have read to more than 1,000 students throughout the state of Georgia for my “LIT About Literacy” Program, and after meeting Leslie (Hale, executive director) and being introduced to the other amazing and passionate board members it was a no-brainer for me to align myself with Books for Keeps. To me it was a win-win!

I can remember the joy that came with finishing a book cover to cover. I can remember the first time I read Homer’s, “The Odyssey” and being instantly thrown into an amazing world of Sirens, cyclops, and the travels of Odysseus! I see that same [...]

(part of a new monthly series)

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

I heard Melaney speak at the TEDxUGA event in 2016, and I immediately knew Books for Keeps was something I wanted to be involved in. Melaney’s message of thinking small — rather than being intimidated into inaction by a big task — resonated with me, and the notion of giving books to kids was equally compelling. As a professor of English and advisor of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society at UNG, I also knew that this would be a great project to pass along to my students.

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

I did my first book distribution at Oglethorpe Elementary in May 2016 and have volunteered in various facets of the process since then. I’ve also worked in the warehouse and with the book sale (and have been an enthusiastic book sale customer). I enjoy seeing how the parts function to serve the bigger mission of BFK.

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

I was ready to increase my commitment to Books for Keeps and thought that serving on the board would be a good way to do that. The timing was right.

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.

Book distributions are magical. Last year, after helping one student at Stroud Elementary School count his books, he jumped up and gave me a hug. It was this wonderful, joy-filled moment that really stuck with me. The work of the volunteers is such a small part [...]

2019 Book Distribution sign-ups are officially live!  With your help, we’ll once more be giving away nearly 95,000 books to children at 18 schools in Athens, Atlanta, Warrenton, and Elberton. This is your chance to experience the joy of helping students in your community pick out 12 free books for summer – for keeps!

If you are part of a group (8 to 15 people) that would like to adopt and work an entire shift at a particular school, let us know now so that we can coordinate with you to reserve a shift. Email Program Manager
Justin Bray at justin@booksforkeeps.org

To sign up for a shift, simply click the name of the school and you’ll be taken to the GivePulse signup page for that school.

April 9-11, 2019: Elbert County Elementary School- Elberton, GA
– April 9th morning shift, 9:00am – 11:15am;  afternoon shift, 12:00pm – 2:30pm
– April 10th morning shift, 8:30am – 11:00am; afternoon shift, 12:00pm – 2:30pm
– April 11th morning shift, 9:00am – 11:30am; afternoon shift, 12:00pm – 3:00pm

April 18-19, 2019: Dunbar Elementary School- Atlanta, GA
– April 18th morning shift, 8:00am – 11:00am;  afternoon shift, 12:00pm – 2:30pm
– April 19th shift, 9:00am – 12:00pm

April 23-24, 2019: Fowler Drive Elementary School- Athens, GA
– April 23rd morning shift, 8:00am – 11:00am;  afternoon shift, 11:45am – 2:30pm
– April 24th shift, 10:30am – 1:30pm

April 24, 2019: Downtown Academy- Athens, GA
– April 24th shift, 12:35pm – 3:15pm

April 25, 2019: Benteen Elementary School- Atlanta, GA
– April 25th morning shift, 8:00am – 10:00am; midday shift, 10:00am – 12:00pm; afternoon shift, 12:15pm – 2:15pm

April 26 & 29, 2019: Gaines Elementary School- Athens, GA
– April 26th morning shift, 8:00am – 11:30am;  afternoon shift, 12:15pm – 2:30pm
– April 29th morning shift, 8:00am – 11:30am; afternoon shift, 12:00pm – 2:35pm

April 29-30, 2019: Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School- Athens, GA
– April 29th morning [...]

(part of a new monthly series)

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

Board member Camilla Bracewell contacted me when the Development Committee was looking for fundraising ideas, and another board member, Joyce Waller, brought up bunco as an idea. They knew that I had organized bunco events before for Piedmont Athens Regional Hosital, so they asked me if I would like to help. I said “sure,” and my involvement started there!

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

I started volunteering with bunco planning in October of 2017 for the January 2018 Bunco for Books event, and I officially joined the Development Committee soon after.  I then joined the BFK board in January of this year.

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

Camilla indicated that Books for Keeps was looking to grow their board and asked me if I would be interested- and I said yes. I had retired the fall before, and I knew that I wanted to up my involvement in volunteering. This organization is something that really appeals to me because of my love of reading and because it really speaks to my background as a manager. Helping students be better and have bigger futures directly impacts our future workforce, as well as their lives.

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.

My only opportunity to work with students so far was volunteering at the Athens Farmer’s Market last year, and it was great having the parents and kids come by our booth and talk about knowing about Books for [...]