Books for Keeps blog

(part of a monthly series)

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

I am a full-time MBA student at UGA’s Terry College of Business, and I learned about Books for Keeps through my program’s Non-Profit Board Fellows Program. The program connects MBA students with Athens-area non-profits and students serve as nonvoting, ex officio members through the four semesters of the MBA program. I knew immediately after learning about Books for Keeps and its mission that I’d love to be part of the organization. Luckily the Books for Keeps team felt the same way! 😊

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

I have been serving with Books for Keeps since August of 2018 as a board member and as part of the Community Development and Marketing Committees.

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

I come from a family of educators and have been an avid reader since I was very young. I believe reading played a huge part in my early development, and the mission of Books for Keeps is one that I feel incredibly passionate about.

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.

At my first book distribution this past spring, I had one particular interaction that still makes me tear up (in the best way!) to this day. A kindergartner asked me to help her pick out her books, so we made our way around the different tables in the media center and she chose books she was excited about. When we got to the 12th book, I excitedly let her [...]

(part of a monthly series)

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

Through Vicky Wilkins [friend of founder, Melaney Smith, and early board member] when I was teaching in the MPA program 8-9 years ago, before Leslie was hired. My class helped the board do some planning and also taught the board some fundraising fundamentals to help them obtain the resources needed to hire an executive director.

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

There was this initial work through my class and then a bit of a gap. I have now been on the board of directors for 5 years. I had previously met with Vicky and Melaney before the class project, but board service was the next move.

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

Certainly the experience working with and getting to know Melaney and the early supporters helped me learn the story and get to know the mission. But also a lifelong love of reading instilled by my family played a big part. I want all children to have the gift of that experience [of loving reading] and have access to books.

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.

Yes. I was at a distribution at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, and I was checking in with a couple of little girls after they had made their selection of books.
They lived in the same federally funded housing community, and they had been very strategic in choosing their books. They chose all different books so that they could trade their books [...]

(part of a monthly series)

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

I was the opening librarian for JJ Harris Elementary School and was approached by Leslie about bringing BFK to our school.  As soon as she said 12 free books for every student—I was hooked.  I think that  was in 2010.

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

When my husband was offered a position at HB Stroud as the assistant principal, I had to leave the media center position there.   When Leslie learned of this, she and a former board member spoke with me about being involved in BFK.   It was a tangible way to stay connected to reading and the students of CCSD.

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

As a child growing up in rural Mississippi, books were my windows to the world.  I want children to have access to the same joy that I get when reading.

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.

There have been too many to name.  From the standpoint of a media specialist–I think the most heartwarming times are when kindergarten students come in and choose the biggest books that they can.   They lug those bags proudly back to their classroom and pour over them.   As a mother, my oldest son participated in BFK and he still had a couple of books from a distribution. He is now a senior and can still vividly recall getting books from BFK distributions.

What strengths are you bringing to Books for Keeps?

A positive attitude, a willingness to [...]

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 [...]

Sometimes we’re at a loss for words here at Books for Keeps. If you’ve met any of our three staff or our dozen-plus board members, you are probably laughing right now. Real hard.

It’s true, though. Sitting down to write this post, it was hard to figure out where to start – what to focus on. There was simply so much good to go around this year at book distributions that it’s hard to wrap our brains around – from giving away our 500,000th book (and way, way beyond) to celebrating 10 years to gathering new insights into our students reading habits.

We served the same number of students as last year (nearly 8,000) and gave away the same number of books (roughly 95,000), yet this year felt big in so many ways.

So, where to start in describing it?

This is where we fall back to those wiser and more eloquent than us: the children we serve.

Among our core values and core behaviors: (1) focusing on stakeholders as individuals and (2) creating joyful opportunities for children to become owners of books. They are our future voters and decision-makers. It really is all about them because – one day – the world will be in their hands.

“I’m so excited I could explode,” one fifth-grader told a volunteer at Whit Davis Elementary School. This, in response to a simple survey question asking about her level of excitement over her books.

For the first time this year, we sought to gather more information from our student participants – right at the moment when they chose their books. What are we hoping to learn?

How motivated are they to read their books?
How many of their 12 books do they expect [...]