This annual project was developed during my sophomore year at USC. Since then, we have held the International Reading Festival three times. Each year it has grown in size and scope. This year was our largest event with over 200 students and their families coming to the USC campus for the three-hour event. Over 40 volunteers worked on the day of the event. Each student left with a stamped passport from traveling to the different 'regions' of the world where they participated in storytelling and follow-up activities to go with folk tales native to each region. A special quilting booth was a popular station for participants to express their creativity while learning about quilting, a tradition shared by many world cultures. Additionally, there were language lessons taught and food representative of each region. Each student left with a brand new hardback DK My First Atlas and another book of their choosing for their personal libraries. The community members got to share in a day of learning, family fun, and adventure. Word has spread about the International Reading Festival and the underserved families in the area have come to look forward to the event as a day to celebrate cultural diversity and literacy.
Project Books and Blankies
the problem:
In Southern California, four out of five third graders cannot read at grade level. This is a shocking statistic and studies have proven that children who fail to read at grade level by age nine rarely catch up. Because I believe that “no skill is more critical to the future of a child, or to the future of a democratic and prosperous society, than literacy,” I have focused my efforts in the community on this very serious problem.
Among the reasons for this staggering rate of illiteracy are poverty, inadequate resources, and the absence of encouragement and positive role models. Often students do poorly in school because they are not able to read well enough to be successful and develop self-esteem. Sadly, many adults are unable to read the directions in order to properly fill out a job application.
Kids who are struggling to learn to read will often give up if they are not encouraged to stick with reading. Not only is literacy necessary to survive and advance in today’s world, but reading also provides a magic carpet that can be used also to explore distant worlds. It is a great feeling to be able to forget all that is happening around you while you are absorbed in a book. Reading can open a whole new world of imagination and creativity. It is the key to the future! Literacy opens one’s mind to endless possibilities. With a book, you can travel to distant lands without leaving your seat, learn about different people and places, and learn about right and wrong.
My research revealed that in addition to self-esteem - job skills, problem solving skills, communication skills will also improve from increased proficiency in reading. As part of my effort to learn about the problem of illiteracy, I have attended training sessions sponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library (“Read to Me L.A.”), and the Los Angeles Times’ “Reading by 9” initiative. While some community programs do address the issue of students struggling with reading, the need has clearly not been met. I founded Project Books and Blankies over 9 years ago to address this problem with students helping students. Because of my own struggles with reading, I felt that I was in a unique position to create and implement solutions for this serious community problem. My empathy coupled with creative ideas, a great deal of dedication and strong organizational skills have enabled me to strengthen my community.
vital stats:
people impacted:
5,000people involved:
400why it's important:
When I was younger, I struggled for several years trying to overcome a personal obstacle – learning to read. Not only was this frustrating, but it was embarrassing as well. I just couldn’t read. But I remember that I used to sit with a book and a cozy quilt while a family member would sit and patiently read with me. Finally, it clicked! All the hard work and effort paid off. Because I didn’t give up on reading, new worlds opened for me. I learned that books really are the key to the future.
Based on my personal experiences, I thought that I might be able to make a difference in the lives of other children who are either struggling to learn to read or who aren’t interested in books. I decided to start Project Books and Blankies in 1999 so that I could share the magic of books with others. I thought that the best way that I could share this love of reading with others would be through the gift of books and a blanket to snuggle with while reading. I have spent hundreds of hours selecting bright, cheerful fabrics that I thought children would enjoy, and sewing colorful quilts to accompany the book baskets that I deliver to classrooms, after school programs, agencies promoting literacy, and the needy. The ‘blankie’ that I present is usually kept in the reading corner so that kids can snuggle up and get cozy while reading. My goal is to encourage and motivate kids who may not have someone at home to cheer them on, as well as those who lack the resources to improve their reading skills. This is a need not currently met by other literacy programs in the area.
The books that I deliver have come from numerous book drives that I have sponsored in my community, and from donations from publishers and bookstores that I have contacted through a letter writing campaign. I have also received fabric and batting as donations from quilt stores, manufacturers, and local quilt guilds. Local businesses have also been supportive, sponsoring Benefit Days as fundraisers for Project Books and Blankies. I have been invited to speak before numerous community groups about my efforts to motivate kids to read. At events sponsored by Project Books and Blankies, I have trained hundreds of volunteers, primarily teenagers, to work with the youngsters at the programs that I visit.
I am on a mission - my efforts are directed at achieving my goal of reaching as many kids as possible. In consultation with local elected officials, I have identified and designated numerous programs as recipients of donations. I visit after school programs, shelters, classrooms, and libraries and I talk to the children about my own struggles and how the effort has paid off for me. I work tirelessly and enthusiastically, and I am always willing to extend myself. The people who have contacted me to become involved with Project Books and Blankies – both locally and nationally, have amazed me. Other students who may have seen me on television or read about my project are interested in starting ‘chapters’ of Project Books and Blankies in their own communities, and quilters and business leaders have donated their time and services to help me reach my goal. I am fostering community change by my work, by my commitment, and by motivating others to become involved in my literacy work.
Nine years after I founded Project Books and Blankies, funding continues to be a struggle. Although many people have offered to purchase my quilts, I am reluctant to raise funds in that way. It is so much more meaningful for me, and the children, to know that all the time I put into designing and sewing the quilts is just for them. Although I have successfully applied for several grants and have formed partnerships with some businesses and publishers (Borders Books and Music and DK Publishing), the rising cost of books makes it impossible for me to reach all of the kids who would benefit from the work of Project Books and Blankies. Among my goals is to continue my work setting up libraries in the Learning Rooms located in shelters throughout Southern California. Hopefully, the availability of a variety of reference books, novels, and other types of study materials will enable the kids at these facilities to maintain at least some consistency in their studies, despite being displaced from their homes. I am currently planning a 3rd Annual International Reading Festival to promote literacy through cultural awareness in underserved areas of Los Angeles.
the plan of action:
Since I started Project Books and Blankies, I have donated over 25,000 books locally and internationally. I am especially proud that after being contacted by an international relief organization, I was able to send over 1,000 books to South Africa to be distributed by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Foundation.
To date, I have collected more than $130,000 in books, fabrics, and monetary grants. I have received state and national recognition for my work. I have actively sought out and applied for grants to benefit groups that I have worked with. I am proud that I have been able to reach thousands of youngsters in the Southern California area.
I have provided books as holiday gifts to hundreds of needy children over the past nine years in partnership with the Borders’ Giving Tree program. I have also donated hundreds of books to School Bags for the Needy, a program that provides book bags and homework supplies to low-income families at the beginning of each school year. I am thrilled that the children start the school year with a brand new book for their personal libraries. I have been invited to teach quilting classes and a number of my quilts have been displayed in state and national quilt shows as examples of ways that quilters can reach out to those in need in the community. Students and adults who want to get involved in my efforts to promote literacy contact me regularly. Like me, they seem to have found truth in the words of James Barrie, “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
I am currently a senior at the University of Southern California and I continue to expand the reach of Project Books and Blankies in the neighborhoods surrounding my school. In partnership with the USC ReadersPlus program, I am currently planning the third annual International Reading Festival to promote literacy and cultural awareness. Our first events were such a success that we have decided to make it a yearly event and to expand it each year. I am also working to partner Project Books and Blankies with other campus organizations to sponsor other literacy initiatives. In the past few months, I donated hundreds of the books to establish a library at both Haven Two and Hope Cottage, facilities in the San Fernando Valley for abused women and children trying to get a fresh start.
how you can get involved:
Project Books and Blankies welcomes the involvement of business and community members to sponsor book drives, fund raisers, quilting bees, or volunteer at literacy events throughout the community. Please email booksandblankies@gmail.com for more information.
project updates:
