Take a *First Look* at my relationship with *First Book*

If you’ve been reading She Is Too Fond Of Books for any length of time, and if you’ve read the BBAW interview over at My Friend Amy’s last week, you know a little bit about me… 

• You know I’m a stay-at-home-mom to four bright and active kids. 
• You know my youngest just turned four and I’m starting to think about what I want to do “when I grow up”. 
• You know that reading and writing are something of a passion of mine, and that this blog has been a positive push for me. 
• You know that I’ve worked with adult literacy programs as a tutor in the past
• You know … well, you probably know a lot more than that, but let’s stick to what’s relevant!

So, I love that I’m able to be home for my kids now, but I’m looking toward the not-too-distant future when they’re all in school full-day.  If I don’t go back to work full-time “outside the home”, I’d like to work on a bigger, long-term project (again, I know that raising kids is a BIG long-term project, but I’m looking to extend my reach).  With our current busy family schedule I can’t commit to even one night a week out of the house to volunteer in an adult literacy program.  So what can I do at home or outside the home on an occasional weekend?  What can I do that will plant the seeds for a position I might grow into?

Now, let’s bring First Book into the picture.  They are a nonprofit organization with a single mission: providing new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books.  First Book provides an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs.  Read the full First Book story here.

I first learned of First Book at my nephew’s wedding this summer.  His wife is an elementary-level teacher and knows first-hand that having books in a home can have a tremendous impact on a child’s ability to read and succeed.  In lieu of wedding favors, the couple made a donation to First Book and gave these beautiful commemorative bookmarks to raise awareness of First Book’s mission (my scanner doesn’t do them justice – imagine heavy cardstock with rounded corners and a silky ribbon at the top).

I saw First Book again when Book Club Girl posted about their “What book got you hooked?” campaign. 

Now the summer was winding down, the kids would soon be back at school.  First Book kept swimming around my head, saying “GET INVOLVED!”  But how? 

Here’s what I’m doing (aside from keeping informed):

• I’ve contacted First Book about volunteering at a book distribution center
• I’ve put out “feelers” to the Boston advisory board and am doing research to see about the feasibility of founding an advisory board in the northwest suburbs
• I’m starting a long-term fund-raising campaign

I spoke to Rose at First Book about the way I would manage the fund-raising.  I wondered if they had a system like I’ve seen on other sites, e.g. where people can donate online and the total amount raised is shown as a rising thermometer toward the goal.  I wanted a website apart from She Is Too Fond Of Booksto track the donations, so that I have accountability and people who shop thru my new affiliate links will see the funds grow.  Rose told me this type of system was “in the works” and would be available soon … in the meantime I have moved my blog to a host that allows advertising (affiliate links), and considered how best to launch it.

The move was completed this weekend (if you come across any dud links, please let me know and I’ll fix them!).  Great timing; I got an email from Rose on Monday, saying that the Books for Kids, Books for Keeps program launched.  Click over here to see my “team” page.  Notice it includes “book-blogging friends” in the title?  That’s for you!  here’s how you can help Books for Kids, Books for Keeps:

• Join my team and ask friends to support your efforts (there are e-mail templates to assist with asking for donations)
• Make a donation via this link
• If you shop online, shop thru the links on She Is Too Fond of Books.  To start, links include amazon.com and IndieBound; others may be added

I’ll post an update at least monthly with news from First Book and updates on my involvement with volunteering and other fund-raising efforts.  All money raised will go to Books for Kids, Books for Keeps; moving my blog has allowed me to have the advertisements that will be a means of fundraising for this cause.  I’m so pleased to have cemented a plan to help a cause I believe in, and to lay the groundwork for me to become more involved in the future!