This spring our school district decided to close four schools. This was a sudden decision and very hard on the children and their families that attend the schools. My Own Book had visited the closing schools in the past. Each of the schools were located in the lower income areas of our downtown. We decided to take action to help make the best of a bad situation. We were able to buy and distribute through special assemblies a copy of Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss to every child at each of the closing schools. This was a great experience not only for the children who got a copy of the book but also for our volunteers. We are happy to be spreading the joy of reading.
My Own Book
Submitted by kyleb on Thu, 03/29/2007 - 06:40
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the problem:
We heard on the radio that most low income children do not have any books of their own. We researched this and found that low income children have zero to two books compared to two hundred books for kids that are better off. We know how great it is to have books available to read and enjoy so we decided to start a program to read to children and let them choose their own book.
vital stats:
people impacted:
35,000people involved:
300why it's important:
We started My Own Book four years ago. We solicit book/money donations from local businesses, publishers,clubs, and individuals. We set up visits at less fortunate K-3rd grade classrooms and read the children a book. Often team members act out the story to gales of laughter. Next we tell them about the public library and finally we lay out a selection of brand new books and let each child select their own book to take home. We add a book plate with the child's name on it so that the child feels pride in ownership.
We hosted a Share the Joy of Reading Coast to Coast event on 9/27/08. We had teens, librarians, fire and police and Mother Goose read and give away books to less fortunate children in every state from California to Rhode Island.
Next we are hosting Family Reading Nights at a local elementary school and a Reading is Sweet event where local clubs and businesses will be building gingerbread houses to display at the library and then auctioned off to buy books.
We are also having a big holiday reading and book giveaway at a local school. We've partnered with the local Hi 4-H Club (I'm the teen leader for the group) to host a craft fair for the children the same night to ensure a big crowd.
We won $10,000 in the Best Buy @ 15 Challenge. We declared February National Share the Love of Reading Month. We encouraged every teen/adult to buy their favorite book for a child and read it to them, and give them the book. If anyone knows of children without books we're happy to send books and bookplates to them. Just let us know!
the plan of action:
We talked with lots of different people, tried lots of different things and came up with the program. We learned we needed to target K-third grade kids because after that it is too hard to engage the children in reading. We learned the importance of reading aloud to kids in a loud voice and engaging them in the story. We've made mistakes and learned from them. We finetuned the project enough so that it can now be executed on a national level. We have given out more than 27,500 books so far- that is over $100,000 worth of books! Children love to get the books and hear the story plus our teen volunteers learn leadership and the importance of reaching out to less fortunate children.
how you can get involved:
Host a book drive. Volunteer to read. Start a My Own Book chapter in your town. We can give you instructions on how plus supply you with books and bookplates. Check out our website at myownbook.net
project updates:
07/19/2009
07/06/2009
Great news! Last week we visited Bransford Elementary and gave out our 20,000th book. It was exciting. The kids at this school are building home libraries since they have been a part of our program since its' inception
We'd love to send teens books/bookplates if anyone wants to visit less fortunate kids, read, and pass out books. Let us know if you are interested! kyleandbrady@myownbook.net
03/02/2009
My Own Book teens from Armijo hit the road on Read Across America Day to share the joy of reading. A huge crowd of us visited David Weir Elementary School- we read and acted out stories, showed off our library cards, and then let the children pick a book of their very own. We used our Do Something Club grant funds to help us pay for the 400 + books we distributed to less fortunate children. It was a great event!
Comments
Thats really cool! Doing things like this for young children is a wonderful thing! KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!
Awesome project. You should think about registering your book clubs as Do Something Clubs. There are tons of opportunities for DS Clubs like grants, project ideas and support, and one on one guidance. Check it out at www.dosomething.org/clubs and keep up the great work!
let me Promote your services and charity at my next event please
That would be great!
Kyle and Brady Baldwin
This project touches a very special place in my heart. Books have been very influential in my life, and I cannot imagine not having a bookshelf filled with my old friends. Every child deserves this wonderful source of imagination, creativity, and escape.
I hope to run a book drive in my city this year.
Thanks for being so inspiring!
Excellent! Thank you- if you'd like we can send books and bookplates to you if you want to set up an event at the library or in a needy classroom. It is lots of fun and very rewarding. Check out our website at www.myownbook.net for how to start a chapter, and contact us at kyleandbrady@myownbook.net if you are interested. Thanks!
Kyle and Brady Baldwin
Thank you! Check out our website at myownbook.net- we can send you books and/or bookplates if you would like help getting started.
Kyle and Brady Baldwin
It's really exciting to know about the initiative. I am based in India. I would be glad to forward the initiative here. I would be happy to have some guidance from the organisers.
Thank you for your interest! Please visit our website at www.myownbook.net for information on how to start your own chapter. It is easy- you find kids to read to and books to give out. In the US we can supply books to all interested in starting a chapter. Unfortunately we don't have the means to do that for you in India but perhaps you can run a book drive? Let us know what you decide to do. We are happy you like the idea!
Kyle and Brady Baldwin
kyleandbrady@myownbook.net
thats really cool.nice idea
Wow, this idea is so amazing. I'm just starting a do something club at my school and i'm kind of lost for ideas, but your guy's program really inspires me. Great job.
Hey!
Your project looks awesome! We're getting ready to launch our Epic Book Drive in April and we'd love if you'd get involved. Post your project online at: http://www.dosomething.org/epic-book-drive.
Questions? Email me at bizdevintern@dosomething.org!
Sweet project!