Feel Good Friday - Books for Wider Horizons

Did you know this week is National Library Week? What a perfect time to shine a spotlight on Books for Wider Horizons. 

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Books for Wider Horizons  (BWH) is a program of the Oakland Public Library that recruits, trains, and places volunteer story readers in preschool and childcare centers throughout the city. The program began as a partnership between the Oakland Public Library and the City's Youth Services, and now BWH sends volunteers into Head Start centers and preschool sites each week to read aloud to children who might otherwise rarely experience the joy of a good book.

The mission is simple: support early literacy development and nurture a lifelong love of reading. Many of the kids served by BWH have few books at home and limited access to adults who read aloud to them. Volunteer readers fill that gap in a deeply personal way, showing up week after week to the same classroom, building real relationships with children and teachers, and becoming a familiar, beloved presence. Teachers report that volunteers are treated like rock stars. As someone who started volunteering with this organization at the beginning of the year I can confirm! Our storytime sessions always end with a giant group hug.

Volunteer readers come from all walks of life. They are students, retired teachers, and professionals on their lunch breaks. Bilingual readers are especially welcome, bringing multilingual storytime experiences to classrooms where many children are English language learners. The volunteer training sessions are engaging and informative and leave you well equipped to lead a weekly storytime at your assigned preschool. It’s amazing how much reading, singing and movement you can do in a 25-30 minute session. 

If this sounds like something you'd love to support, here's how you can get involved. Join the waitlist for the next volunteer training at Books for Wider Horizons and bring your joy of reading to an Oakland preschool classroom. You can also amplify their work on social media by following the Oakland Public Library on Bluesky, Facebook or Instagram and sharing their stories of joy and learning with your network.

Happy National Library Week!

 

Feel Good Friday - Earthjustice

With Earth Day just around the corner on April 22nd, this week's Feel Good Friday highlights Earthjustice, the organization fighting to protect our planet in the courts.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Francisco, the mission of Earthjustice, is "to wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change." Originally established as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, the organization became fully independent and rebranded as Earthjustice in 1997 to better reflect its identity as a legal advocate for the broader environmental movement. They represent not just big national groups, but communities on the frontlines of pollution.

What makes Earthjustice unique is its core promise: they represent all clients completely free of charge! That's because they operate on the simple, powerful premise that the earth needs a good lawyer. With more than 220 attorneys working across 15 regional offices, Earthjustice takes on the biggest, most precedent-setting environmental cases in the country. Their clients range from big organizations like the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund to small community groups fighting pollution in their own backyards.

The work of Earthjustice spans four major areas: clean air and healthy communities, climate and clean energy, healthy oceans and wildlife, and the preservation of wild places. In recent years, they’ve won landmark cases resulting in historic limits on industrial polluters, secured a settlement in Hawaii requiring the state to transition its transportation system to zero emissions, and fought back against efforts to reopen protected oceans to oil and gas drilling. 

Since January 2025 alone, they have filed more than 150 new pieces of litigation in direct response to sweeping attacks on environmental protections. The good news is they have an 85% win rate for their cases. Mother Earth has some good representation!

If you’d like to support Earthjustice you can do so by making a donation, shopping for sustainably sourced apparel and gear at their store, and amplifying their message on social media. Follow Earthjustice on Bluesky, Instagram, or LinkedIn and share their stories of legal victories for people and the planet.

Happy Earth Month! 🌎

Feel Good Friday - Academy of American Poets

April is National Poetry Month, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the celebration, making it the perfect time to spotlight the Academy of American Poets, the organization that started it all.

Founded in 1934 and headquartered in New York City, the mission of Academy of American Poets  is "to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry."

The Academy launched National Poetry Month in 1996, and it has grown into the largest literary celebration in the world, with schools, libraries, publishers, and poetry lovers across the country participating every April. But their work doesn't stop when the month ends.

Year-round, the Academy runs an impressive slate of programs. Poem-a-Day is their beloved daily series, publishing more than 200 new, previously unpublished poems each year alongside exclusive commentary from the poets themselves. Dear Poet  connects K–12 students directly with living poets through letter writing. This year, for the first time, the program includes poems in both English and Spanish! Teach This Poem  is a free weekly resource for educators, pairing a poem with discussion questions and classroom activities. And Poetry Near You is a searchable calendar of poetry events happening in communities nationwide.

The Academy also administers the American Poets Prizes and Fellowships, distributing more than $1,000,000 to two hundred poets each year, making it the largest funder of poets in the United States. This includes the Poet Laureate Fellowship, which awards $50,000 fellowships to state and local poets laureate, and the Wallace Stevens Award, a $100,000 prize for lifetime achievement.

Upcoming events include Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30th. Everyone is encouraged to carry a poem and share it with someone on that day. And don't miss the Poetry & the Creative Mind virtual benefit reading on April 28th, featuring a star-studded lineup of celebrities reading their favorite poems. It's free and open to all!

You can support the Academy of American Poets in many ways. Become a member, make a donation, or simply share their work on social media. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and spread a little poetry love with your network.

Happy National Poetry Month! 🌸