April 16, 2008
A message from James G. Francavilla, Senior Vice President, Community Development:
April 27-May 3 is National Volunteer Week and this is the perfect time to formally thank you for your dedication to First Book. Your accomplishments in the form of nearly 275 Advisory Boards are a great example of the power volunteers have to affect significant and lasting change.
According to the Gallup Organization, 44% of Americans volunteer with a formal organization. This is equivalent to 9 million full-time employees, valued at $239 million. As difficult as it may be to grasp the enormity of 44% of Americans, 9 million full-time employees or $239 million dollars, it is even more difficult to place an actual value on a volunteer's time.
The most precious of all resources is time. Try as we might it is simply not possible to acquire more of it. Sure we try to save time, make time even attempt to gain time during daylight savings--but these are illusions.
Therefore, First Book values your time, not in dollars, but in recognizing and appreciating your generosity of expending your most precious resource by giving books to kids.
The work done by Advisory Boards is unmatched. Over the years, you have raised millions of dollars, distributed countless millions of books to thousands of children. As difficult as it may be to grasp the enormity of these accomplishments, perhaps even more difficult is to find the right words to show our appreciation, but here we go: We at First Book honor our incredible volunteers and on behalf of the children you serve send out a GREAT BIG THANK YOU!
Get on Board: Things To Do
Take the Cheerios Book Donation Challenge! First Book has teamed up with Cheerios and John Lithgow to present this year’s Cheerios® Book Donation Challenge. The Challenge gives you the chance to determine where Cheerios will donate 100,000 new books to children across the country. For every question you answer correctly, you can vote for the state that you’d like to receive new books for children in need. The top 5 vote-getting states will each receive 20,000 new books for local children! Visit the Cheerios Book Donation Challenge to cast your votes from now until Sunday, June 15th.
Food for Thought: Things to Know
March Survey Garners Broad Advisory Board Response. Thank you to all Board members who participated in the March AB’s-in-Action Board Structure survey. Congratulations to First Book-Huntington Area, WV, the winner of this months drawing prize of a $250 Borders gift card. To allow time to analyze the unprecedented amount of data and to develop action items we will not be posting an April survey, but plan on including one next month. In the meantime, please review preliminary information gleaned from the survey. (Read more).
Have you checked out the Marketplace lately?The First Book Marketplace has increased its offerings from 100 titles a few months ago to more than 400 titles today. These include many new offerings, Spanish titles, award winners, and more than 30 special collections of assorted titles. We’re also happy to welcome many First Book favorites, such as Where The Wild Things Are, poetry titles by Jack Pretlutsky, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the Velveteen Rabbit. We have also added a number of award-winning African-American interest titles including Sweet Whispers Brother Rush, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Lead Her People To Freedom. The average price of a FBMP titles is just $1.85 (50-90% off retail) including shipping and handling.
FBU Goes to Baltimore. College students, a representative from the DC Public Schools, KPMG employees, and SunTrust Mortgage associates gathered for FBU-Baltimore on Friday, March 7. Attendees started the day with a lively game of Jeopardy to test their First Book knowledge followed by sessions on Mapping the Fundraising Universe and the DNA of an Effective Board.
John-Anthony Meza of KPMG LLP jokes around with students (from left to right) Heather Penchinar, Jonathan Jaffe, and Kevin Diehn of First Book-University of Maryland College Park during FBU Baltimore.
We were thrilled to welcome Cory Anderson of the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a guest speaker during lunch. Cory is with KIDSCOUNT, which is an online resource that many Advisory Boards use when determining the number of children living in poverty within local communities.
Worth noting, the KIDSCOUNT data is very extensive and can be a great resource as you create awareness for the issues surrounding illiteracy (Read more).
First Book –Greater Johnstown, PA Hosts Notable Kick Off Event. One of our newest Advisory Boards, First Book-Greater Johnstown, PA, held an incredibly successful Kick-Off Reading Event on Thursday, March 27. The event brought in nearly 100 people during a cold, rainy evening—a testimony to the community’s commitment to literacy. The children and their families enjoyed an evening of interactivity and reading ending with a pizza party for all.
Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, reads Up, Down and Around to the kids!
Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, was the special guest and presenter for the evening. His reading of the book Up, Down, and Around was excellent, demonstrating his true understanding of how to appeal to young children in developmentally appropriate ways while continuing to entertain adults as well.
His infectious enthusiasm and support exemplify what every state would hope to have in a Secretary of Education. Not only was Dr. Zahorchak supporting First Book and the local Rotary Club, but he was promoting the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child reading initiative. To learn more about it go to www.paonebook.org (Read more).
Spotlight of the Month
Spotlight of the Month: Doris Grajkowski, First Book-Fond du Lac, WI. Doris Grajkowski is an outstanding member of First Book-Fond du Lac, WI. Doris, a retired elementary school teacher has seen many times over how the power of books impacts a child’s life.
In addition to her work with First Book-Fond du Lac, WI, Doris is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society where she brings new books to the children she sees during home visits. Doris said, “The families that we visit are very poor; they cannot afford new books, this (Borders) promotion will give the children a chance to succeed and become readers.”
First Book honors Doris for her work with First Book and for providing books as a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society. Doris’ dedication has truly made a difference to the Fond du Loc community.
