Feel Good Friday - Children's Book Project

You've heard the phrase, "think globally, act locally"? Well, this Feel Good Friday we're going to "think federally, act locally". No, it's not as catchy but with the recent confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, I need to counter it with some positive education news on a local level, which leads us to Children's Book Project.

I learned about Children's Book Project from a teacher friend of mine and a quick visit to the website explains their mission. "The Children's Book Project was founded to help build literacy by providing new and gently used book for free to children who need them. Since 1992, we have given away over 2.4 million books for children in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond." (Emphasis totally mine.)

Because they know reading aloud to children helps their brain development, and yet you can't read what you don't have, Children's Book Project collects books for children ranging in age from infants to teens then distributes them to childcare centers, homeless shelters, schools and to individual teachers, caseworkers and community workers. It's much like the African Library Project I wrote about in this blog in May, 2013 but these books go to kids in the Bay Area.

If you've got books to donate, there are several drop off sites in San Francisco and the Peninsula. If you need to obtain books, you can visit their office in San Francisco. Check here for address and hours.

Children's Book Project is always accepting volunteers to help sort books, people willing to organize a book drive and, of course, monetary donations. You can also support them on social media by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @ChildrensBookSF

We can't predict what the next four years will be like in the Department of Education but we can take direct action now to ensure that every child who wants to read a book has a book to read.