Montford school makes great gift!

A student at Montford Middle school organized a book drive that lead to the largest gift of gently used books in the six year history of Kids in Need -- Books in Deed. Micah Joyner started a book drive at Montford Middle school, and collected over 2,500 books. It is the single largest donation to the program. This event created a literacy shockwave across the community of Tallahassee.

"Micah created a tremendous positive effect on the entire Tallahassee community," said founder Julianna Baggott. "Because of her efforts, hundreds of children in Tallahassee will have books of their own for the summer."

Having books in the home is a key to literacy. Book ownership, really having books kids love is another key to reading.

Media Specialists from several elementary and middle school accepted the books, and knew just how they would use them.

Melissa Ingram, Media Specialist at Woodville School, received books with open arms.
"I am always impressed by how well our teachers know their students and how much they care for them. In the past, teachers have purchased books out-of-pocket to make sure their students did not go without.  Thanks for making it easier for them to show their love in such an important and powerful way.  What a joy to pass the gift you gave us on to our students!"

Books were delivered to Hartsfield Elementary, Woodville Elementary, Fort Braden School, Nims Middle and Bond Elementary.

This is just one of many stories that have already happened, and will continue to happen for the rest of the school year because of Micah's efforts and the Montford community's generosity.

E-Books or Print Books -- for kids?

This article discusses how ebooks are trumping sales over print books except when it comes to reading aloud to kids. (If interested, read the comment section for the individual takes on why this might be the case.)

Click here to read the article.

Our Brains and Books

Our Brains and Books -- The Neurobiological Upsides to Reading

Recently The New York Times ran a piece on the real-life benefits to reading. "[Reading].... is an exercise that hones our real-life social skills, another body of research suggests. Dr. Oatley and Dr. Mar, in collaboration with several other scientists, reported in two studies, published in 2006 and 2009, that individuals who frequently read fiction seem to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and see the world from their perspective."

Click here to read the whole article.

Over 1200 Books Donated!

This week over 1200 books were collected at Holy Comforter Episcopal School in Tallahassee to be distributed around the state of Florida through the Supervised Visitation Program with is run through Florida State University.

The book drive, organized and run by students in the Beta Outreach Committee, was a month-long school-wide project, culminating in the delivery of books to Zachary Summerlin, who works at the Institute for Family Violence at FSU.

"We started the pilot project last fall, and everyone loved it!" Summerlin said. "These books have a huge impact on the children."

Supervised visitation programs provide a safe space for children to spend time with their parents in abuse, neglect, and other serious cases. There are non-profit supervised visitation programs in every judicial circuit in Florida. Their motto is protecting children, connecting families. The books go to the counselors who hand them to the children in their care.

"We're amazed by the generous donation from Holy Comforter students and families, who have been steadfast supporters of literacy," said co-founder Julianna Baggott. "And we feel strongly about delivering these books to the Supervised Visitation Program. The work that these professionals are doing with kids is inspiring."

Inspired by the Generosity of Children

Every so often a family will donate books to Kids in Need - Books in Deed out of the blue. We would like to thank Jonathan and Christopher who made room for new books on their shelves this year by donating their old favorites. We would like to thank Bella for inviting friends to donate books at her birthday party. We're inspired by the natural generosity of kids who want to share good books with other children.