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First Book-Greater Akron, OH | |
About UsFirst Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 60 million free and low cost books to disadvantaged children and the programs that serve them. 
Our local advisory board, First Book-Greater Akron, was established in the fall of 2005. Since that time, we have distributed more than 10,000 books to more than 800 children of low-income families, but there is still more need than we can currently satisfy. With funding from personal donations and community foundations, we continue to expand our outreach to programs serving children of low-income families in the Greater Akron area. Access to books is essential to reading development. A recent study found that there is just one book for every 300 children in low-income neighborhoods, compared to 13 books for every one child in middle-income neighborhoods. First Book-Greater Akron meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. For location information, please email us. Everyone is welcome. Give a book - give a smile. Make an online donation. Contact UsYou can reach First Book-Greater Akron by emailing us. |
Tell UsClick here to share the memory of the book that got you hooked. Your response may be shared along with your name on the "Your Favorites" page (coming soon). News & EventsRead the latest national news from First Book Book Grant RecipientsFirst Book-Greater Akron has given book grants to many programs in the Greater Akron metropolitan area. Read the current list of recipients. Local Sponsors and DonorsFirst Book-Greater Akron is able to provide brand-new, high-quality books to children in our community thanks to the generous financial contributions of local businesses and individuals. |
When I was a shy and dreamy fifth grader at Sussex Elementary School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, sitting at my desk where students before me carved their initials into the golden wood, I listened in wonder as my teacher Miss Hudson read the class a poem titled “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost from a collection called Mountain Interval. The poem begins “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both” and ends with the marvelous lines “I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” What was it about those lines that spoke to me? As Miss Hudson read the verse, I pictured in my mind that mysterious fork where two roads crossed, and it was as if I were traveling it along with Frost, experiencing the same thrilling and subversive sensation of choosing the road less traveled instead of sitting dormant in the cage of the stiff wooden chair attached to my desk in the stuffy over heated classroom. It was then and there that the rich universe of poetry and books opened for me and transformed my life.
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