Every kid deserves a book, and every adult deserves to be literate. I want to share with all you Book Buffs three amazing programs dedicated to fighting illiteracy. The first is called Chapters of Hope, which is sponsored by the Deseret Book Company, the second is called The Imagination Library, as sponsored by Dolly Parton, and the third is called Reading Is Fundamental. Please read on and find out how you can help. If nothing else, please take the buttons from my sidebar to spread the word! This is not a promotion for The Book Buff, the buttons for Reading Is Fundamental, The Imagination Library and Chapters of Hope do not link back to my site, they just link up directly to the homepage or donation page of each foundation.
CHAPTERS OF HOPE
From the Chapters of Hope website:
Deseret Book operates Chapters of Hope in cooperation with Humanitarian Services by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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CHAPTERS OF HOPE
From the Chapters of Hope website:
"To date, Chapters of Hope has sent more than 40,000 books to children around the world—to such places as Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tonga, Fiji, Russia, and Israel. When appropriate, books will be sent to Haiti.Here is a link to the website: http://deseretbook.com/chaptersofhope
Help is still needed. Children in many developing areas of the world have little or no access to books. By donating just $1, or even the change from a purchase, you will be helping put a book into the hands of a child. Together we will be breaking down illiteracy and filling children’s minds with knowledge and dreams.
By giving a book, you will be changing a life."
Deseret Book operates Chapters of Hope in cooperation with Humanitarian Services by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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DOLLY'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY
Have you heard about how Dolly Parton's Foundation provides books for children of all backgrounds? My mom recently turned me on to this foundation, and I wanted to contribute. First, what is the Imagination Library? Here is is as explained from the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Website:
"In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
So she decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 in Sevier County. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could ™, every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mail box. These moments continue each month until the child turns 5—and in their very last month in the program they receive Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.
Needless to say the experience has been a smashing success. So much so that many other communities clamored to provide the Imagination Library to their children. Dolly thought long and hard about it and decided her Foundation should develop a way for other communities to participate. The Foundation asked a blue ribbon panel of experts to select just the right books and secured Penguin Group USA to be the exclusive publisher for the Imagination Library. Moreover a database was built to keep track of the information.
Consequently, in March of 2000 she stood at the podium of The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and revealed the plan for other communities to provide the Imagination Library to their children. And as only Dolly can say it, she wanted to “put her money where her mouth is – and with such a big mouth that’s a pretty large sum of money” and provide the books herself to the children of Branson, Missouri and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – communities where her businesses now operate. If other leaders in their communities were willing to do the same, well something big might just happen.
You know what? It did!!
Here’s how it works:
A community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area. The community pays for the books and mailing, promotes the program, registers the children, and enters the information into the database.
From there The Dollywood Foundation takes over and managesthe system to deliver the books to the home. You can find out more of the operational details on other pages in this website – so what are you waiting for! Hundreds of communities are providing books to hundreds of thousands of children."
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READING IS FUNDAMENTAL
Reading Is Fundamental recently had its federal funding pulled, so they are really in need of help! Below you will find some of their basic information, after you read about them here, please hop on over to their website to help out in any way you can!
Mission
RIF’s mission is to motivate young children to read by working with children, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life.History
Founded in 1966 by Margaret McNamara, RIF is the nation’s oldest and largest children’s and family nonprofit literacy organization. Supporters include first ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush; comedian Carol Burnett; actress Rhea Perlman; and NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Juwan Howard.Outreach
- RIF serves more than 4 million children nationwide, with a focus on children from birth to age 8.
- In 2010, RIF distributed 15 million books at 17,000 sites throughout the nation.
- In 44 years, RIF has distributed more than 380 million free, new books to more than 33 million children.
- RIF is supported by more than 400,000 volunteers nationwide.
Funding
- RIF is supported by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education.
- RIF has partnerships with dozens of corporations and private foundations, and we receive donations from thousands of individuals.
- Nearly 90 percent of RIF’s annual budget is used to purchase books and support local RIF sites.
Services:
Books for Ownership
- Provides free books to the nation’s most needy children.
- Engages children in fun reading-related activities.
- Motivates children to read for fun.
- Encourages parents and community members to become involved in children’s literacy.
Educational Resources at RIF.org
- RIF’s Leading to Reading website and its bilingual mirror site, Semillitas de Aprendizaje, are designed to help parents and caregivers develop the language skills of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
- The RIF Reading Planet and Let's Read as a Family/Leamos en Familia encourage children to explore a fun, online world of books as they engage in an assortment of reading and writing games, activities, and contests. Visit www.rif.org for access to both websites.
Professional Services
- Offer trainings to center- and home-based daycare providers in support of the emergent literacy skills of preschool children.
- Provide trainings and resources to parents, including access to free videos, information, and tips on making reading a fun part of their children’s day.
