#bookbagprogram

As usual, we have quite a few things coming up in the 100-Acre Wood and at the Theater in the Wood but we never forget our purpose and we hope you don’t either! Between everything we have coming up, we are of course still working diligently on our literacy programs.  Any fundraiser or event that we do is intended to support our mission to advance healthy development of young minds through literacy programs that encourage early reading, imagination, and physical activity. One of our largest literacy programs is our Outreach Reading Program.  This program, intended for preschoolers throughout the region, brings books to life to excite and expose young children to classic story books.  We have been traveling throughout the school year to visit many little ones and this week we began our final tour featuring Curious George.  Along with this program, the “Bookbag Program” is ending its run of the 2018/2019 school year with all bookbags being collected in the beginning of June.  20 schools participated in our “Bookbag Program” this school year where we delivered 5 bookbags, each filled with 10 gently-used books.  We swapped out the bags 5 times this school year so each student in the program had access to over 250 different books.   We are saddened to see another school year come to an end but interested to see how we can improve this program for the upcoming year. We have also been promoting our “Books from Birth” Literacy Program which encourages healthy reading habits beginning at birth.  BIBLF staff recently joined The Family Resource Center in Littleton, NH for a Community Baby Shower.  Expectant families in need of newborn items and support were welcome at the Community House on Main St. in Littleton on Saturday, May 4th for this free event.  BIBLF was there to present families with a newborn pouch featuring a brand-new book for the baby along with information and literature on the importance of early literacy efforts.  Also, in the pouch was a card for the parents to complete and send back to BIBLF so the little one can receive free books in the mail up until the age of 5 at important developmental milestones. Between these three programs, we are also working on finalizing our summer schedule for the Bookmobile so stay tuned on when that will be posted!  We are so thankful for the Littleton Food Cooperative for having us as their “Partner of the Month” for May!  All donations will help support our bookmobile, so visit them and round up your pennies for literacy!

Tuesday, November 27th is a global day of giving fueled by social media and collaboration known as #GivingTuesday.  This year Believe in Books Literacy Foundation is participating in #GivingTuesday to collect sponsorships for our growing Bookbag Program! The BIBLF Bookbag Program offers participating preschools a chance to have 5 different bookbags, which include 10 different books in each, brought into their classroom for use during either story time or for the students to check out and take to read at home.  Throughout the school year, we visit all of the participating schools and swap out their bookbags with new ones.  Currently, we are only able to offer this program to 22 preschools due to lack of bookbags and lack of sponsors. For the 2018 #GivingTuesday, we are looking to add an additional 200 bookbags into local preschools for the 2019-2020 school year. We can do this with your help! You can sponsor a bookbag for only $60.00. Our goal is to raise $12,000 between November and December.  Each sponsor will receive a special thank you as well as their name added to the bookbag or bookbags they sponsor! As we kick off the season of giving, please Save the Date and consider sponsoring a bookbag or two for the upcoming school year! Give the gift of literacy and help us create the next generation of leaders. THANK YOU!

Whether you are grabbing your morning coffee or treating the family out to a nice dinner, supporting BIBLF during the month of October has never been easier! First, treat yourself to a savory, rich cup of coffee from Vintage Bakery, located in Glen, NH.  For the entire month of October, when you visit Vintage Bakery and purchase a cup of coffee, a portion of that sale goes to supporting BIBLF’s Bookbag Program.  The Bookbag Program is a newly re-formatted program for preschools throughout Northern New Hampshire.  20 preschools are currently served by this program for the 2018-2019 academic school year.  Each participating school has each received 5 bookbags.  Each of those bookbags include ten books for teachers to use either in the classroom or allow students to “check out” to use at home.  Each preschool in the program will have access to an additional 450 books throughout the school year as the bookbags will be exchanged monthly.  We are hoping to be able to include more schools as more funding becomes available for this program. Drink a lot of coffee from Vintage Bakery to help us include more schools next year! Vintage Bakery is open Wednesdays and Thursdays, 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, Fridays and Saturdays, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, and Sundays, 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. If you aren’t a coffee drinker - don’t fret! There is another opportunity to support BIBLF while enjoying a wonderful dinner!  Joseph’s Spaghetti Shed, also located in Glen, NH will be hosting a Dine to Donate to support BIBLF on Monday, October 8th from 4:30 pm & 9:00 pm. BIBLF staff will be there to discuss our programs and our goals for the upcoming year.  We, of course, will also be handing out books to kids that visit the Italian eatery that evening.  There will also be a raffle to support BIBLF as well!  Bring the family and Join us for a fun night out! If you aren’t able to make it on Monday, October 8th, and still want to help out, we are always accepting donations to support our literacy initiatives.  Text LITERACY to 91999 to donate at any time or donate through our website, www.believeinbooks.org. THANK YOU!