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Last spring, students and faculty at Rosa Middle School started collecting and soon exceeded 2,000 books. They brought them over to Thomas Paine Elementary where many were given to kids who needed help building a 100-book personal library. Led by Paine's principal, Dr. Rickansrud, the teachers fanned all over the West Side, staging pop up book fairs, and getting great books into kids' hands. Thanks to all of Paine's faculty who helped spread a love of literacy in Cherry Hill! Owning lots of books is awesome. Donating them and paying it forward is just as good!  Dr. Rickansrud, a tiny reader, and me! (Actually, Dr. R. is a very big reader)
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 BookSmiles harnesses the talent of students to help the cause! Thank you Ciorlisse Garcia DeJesus, a rising senior at Lindenwold High School, for turning recycle bins into a WORKS OF ART. They will serve as a mobile book donation station for years to come! And thank you, Liz Speiser, a Shawnee High School student, for creating a beautiful bin! And here I am with our Dr. Suess Bin, created by my student from long ago, Antione Brown (a.k.a. Zupremaci). BookSmiles' core belief impels us to recycle gently used books by putting them into the hands of underserved children. We also prefer to recycle the banana boxes saved for us by the ALDI market on Route 38 in Cherry Hill. A big thanks to Kelly, who stocks the shelves in the morning! We can fit up to 130 picture books into one box. One thousand books will soon fill these boxes, which have great handles and the strength of crates. The hope is that the teachers who receive them will think creatively of how to use them.  Here we are at a Prevent-the-Summer-Slide pop up book fair at School #4. Having our high school students volunteer their time after school to distribute nearly 850 books to hundreds of children is the SWEET SPOT. We are spreading this model to other districts in New Jersey, namely Paulsboro, Cherry Hill, Vineland, and Newark. Why should Lindenwold have all the fun?  Thank you Temple Beth Sholom for enabling congregants to donate gently used children's books. Our collection bin in the foyer's entrance was filled to the brim! And talk about taking it to the next level! Here is my friend Sara Kreisman with her children helping to sort 825 books. We are collecting all summer long and beyond. Tens of thousands of SJ children have few to no books at home and we are changing this! Children sharing books with others is a mighty thing!
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Location7300 North Crescent Blvd. #10, Pennsauken, NJ 08110
Phone: 856-661-7480 |
BookSmiles is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our EIN# is 82-3233733 |