Inclusive Books for Kids with Illness | Culture Books

We’ve all heard of Ronald McDonald House (RMH), right? They help families with children who struggle with sickness. But have you heard of Culture Books? Started by Erica Denise Richardson, a vibrant educator, Culture Books aims to bridge the gap between literacy and culture and expand home libraries with books written by and for readers not part of the dominant culture. During the month of February Culture Books gave away a book a day by Black authors like Christian Robinson.

Our $1,200 is going to buy books like Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty. Who will read them? Children struggling with illness at RMH. More kids and families will have access to literacy through books with rich culture. Kids that look like them leading the charge on each page. These books shed light and encourage children to hold on and laugh, even when it's tough. Just as RMH seeks to help struggling families have a place to call home with love and comfort, Culture Books seeks to make sure they have books to uplift readers with a diverse array of characters represented on each page.

Reading with Black Santa | Mary Walker Historical and Educational Foundation

First, in case you don’t know, let’s learn about Mary Walker. Mary Walker Historical and Educational Foundation has been in operation since its founding in 1970. It was named for Mary Walker, a tenant of what is now Mary Walker Towers in South Chattanooga, the foundation was created in her honor. Mary learned to read at age 117. She lived to be 121. Wow.

On December 15th Black Santa was available for pictures, and thanks to our $500 grant, gave away books, light refreshments and a few giveaways for children at Olivet Nation on Jersey Pike. Thanks to partnerships with Olivet Baptist, The Chattanooga News Chronicle, and The Chattanooga Courier the event was well attended and will grow each year. This was Black Santa, but he is a Santa like all Santa's for all children, regardless of race.

Ivy Academy | New Library

Ivy Academy continues to expand their programs, and this year they have taken a massive step to add a high school!  This month we heard from a 14 year old student and future Eagle Scout of Ivy Academy who upon viewing the blueprints for the school noticed a room connected to the offices that was labeled “Library”.  When he asked about it, he learned that with the costs of the new building, no money was left in the budget to actually equip the library. This student is taking matters into his own hands, and for his Eagle Scout Project is organizing a book drive to fill the new library with over 1,000 donated books.  They will need a new computer and scanner to manage the check out process, and that’s where we are excited to step in.

YMCA | Bi-lingual Books

This month, we are also proud to support the the Early Learning Readiness program for the J.A. Henry YMCA. This is a FREE nation-wide YMCA program designed for children birth to 5 years old. They use a curriculum of 13 interest centers that children experience 2 days a week with their caregiver (babysitter, grandma, parent). Our preschool program focuses on developmental milestones and Kindergarten-readiness skills. We have 1 class that meets in East Lake and another that meets in East Ridge; last year we had a total of 66 program participants and 62% of those children & parents are primarily Spanish-speaking families. However they have very few that are sturdy board books and only 11 are bi-lingual. We offer books for families to borrow between classes, and the books in Spanish are always the first selected. Our UNFoundation grant will triple the number of bi-lingual books available to families so that they have the opportunity to read bedtime stories to their children in their own language, while also practicing English.

HomeBoundBooks: Bringing Reading Back Home | Kelsey Butler

24 year old and recent UTC education graduate, Kelsey Butler, is a vibrant, driven philanthropist. While volunteering with 7 children for 30 minutes a day to enhance their reading skills she noticed something, many children had no books at home to read. Kelsey is doing something to change that. She created HomeBoundBooks, a soon to be non-profit dedicated to providing access to "no strings attached" books via a bookshelf in their school, separate from the library.

Some of you might be thinking "but can't kids just go to the library and check out books?" Yes, they can. Unless you checked out a book and lost it. Fines to replace a lost book can be impossible for underserved youth. Our $2,329 grant will put three bookshelves full of books into three schools along with marketing materials to help teachers understand their role in the process. Watch this video Kelsey made about how it all works.

Anti-Gang Weekly Mentor Program Books

Raised in Chattanooga, for 18 years Chris Newby was a high ranking member of one of the most violent gangs in Chattanooga and America, the Vice Lords. Working with him is Reginald Peck, a former member of the Bloods. They have created a weekly mentor program through Fathers to the Fatherless for what Orchard Knob, Tyner, and Brainerd call their most high risk students. They have 20 students at each of the schools- half boys and half girls. Meeting for 1 hour during the school day every week for the whole school year they are running programs on conflict resolution, negotiation skills, self confidence, positive collaboration and communication.

Sounds pretty amazing, right? What do they need? Books. We will be purchasing 4 books for each student. These aren't just any books, these are relevant and highly sought after books (we know because one of our trustees is a librarian). On the docket to read is The Skin I'm In, Tears of a Tiger, Monster, and Bronx Masquerade. The goal? To create a love for reading that comes from books chosen just for them.