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Meet new board member, Deirdre Sugiuchi!

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. [...]

By |January 10th, 2020|Uncategorized|0 Comments|
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2020 distribution dates are officially set!

2020 Book Distribution dates are set*!  Thanks to your generosity this giving season, we’ll be giving away 108,000 books this spring to children at 20 schools Athens, Atlanta, Warrenton, and Elberton. Mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss this chance to experience the magic of helping students in your community pick out their 12 free books for summer – for keeps!

As always, we will be taking group reservations of groups of 8 to 15 people that would like to adopt and work an entire shift at a particular school. Fore more information about this option, email us now to start coordinating with our Program Manager, Jutin Bray.  justin@booksforkeeps.org

Stay tuned to our social media in the new year for an announcement when sign ups are ready!

*While these are the dates we’ve set in partnership with schools, note that dates can always change due to scheduling needs by the school. That being said, if there’s a school you REALLY want to volunteer at, be sure to mark your calendar now!

April 7, 2020: Downtown Academy- Athens, GA

April 13-15, 2020: Elbert County Elementary School- Elberton, GA

April 15-16, 2020: J.J. Harris Elementary School- Athens, GA

April 16-17, 2020: Timothy Road Elementary School- Athens, GA

April 17, 2020: Benteen Elementary School- Atlanta, GA

April 20-21, 2020: Elbert County Primary School- Elberton, GA

April 22-23, 2020: Dunbar Elementary School- Atlanta, GA

April 30 – May 1, 2020: Winterville Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 1 & 4, 2020: Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 4-5, 2020: Gaines Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 5-7, 2020: Whitehead Road Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 7-8, 2020: Stroud Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 8, 2020: Freeman Elementary School- Warrenton, GA

May 11-12, 2020: Fowler Drive Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 12-13, 2020: Barnett Shoals Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 13-14, 2020: Chase Street Elementary School- Athens, GA

May 14, 2020: Cleveland Road Elementary School- [...]

By |December 9th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on 2020 distribution dates are officially set!|
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Giving Tuesday – it doesn’t matter HOW you give, just THAT you give

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 [...]

By |November 12th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Giving Tuesday – it doesn’t matter HOW you give, just THAT you give|
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Meet board member Jillian Farr!

(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 [...]

By |November 11th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Meet board member Jillian Farr!|
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But why THAT promise?

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 [...]

By |October 11th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on But why THAT promise?|
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Meet board member Joan Prittie!

(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 [...]

By |October 10th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Meet board member Joan Prittie!|
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Looking toward spring 2020 – 20 schools and fulfilling big promises!

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, [...]

By |September 27th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Looking toward spring 2020 – 20 schools and fulfilling big promises!|
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Meet board member Denise Payne!

(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 [...]

By |September 13th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Meet board member Denise Payne!|
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Meet board member Jamie Cumbie!

(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 [...]

By |August 20th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Meet board member Jamie Cumbie!|
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Meet board member Kathy Poss!

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 [...]

By |July 14th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Meet board member Kathy Poss!|
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