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Wow! I just got home from a magnificent evening! Lindenwold's School #4 had a successful Hispanic Heritage Night. A few hundred children and their families took home 750 books gathered and sorted by BookSmiles. Below are pictures of happy children and student helpers from Lindenwold High School's Outspoken Club. Principal Dana Lawrence told me that the research defines a personal children's library as consisting of 100 books! I have my sights now set on raising and distributing 250,000 books over the next few years! A big shout-out to Pastor Cedrick Brown and his staff of Commitment Community Church for helping us set up! And thank you, Ferida Wolff, an author who generously gave out a couple dozen copies of her book It Is the Wind. Keep the donations rolling in!
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 Recently, a retired man named Marc read the article about BookSmiles in The Cherry Hill Sun. He contacted me and said that he refurbishes donated workstations as a hobby, turning them into new machines! Marc asked if I knew of any students who need a work station, going on to say that he will even deliver the computers to whomever needs them. Since he got the workstations for free, he wants to donate them! In some instances, he may need a modest $50 dollars to get reimbursed for the new operating system.
This is not too good to be true! These computers are worth between $700 and $900 dollars, including the delivery! What do you need to do if your family could really use one? By October 27th, you need to write an essay, between 250 and 400 words, describing the specific ways that you and your family would benefit from having a new computer. Try telling a story about how having one would have helped you! People who write the top ten best essays will receive the computers! Submit the essays to your teacher or to Mr. Brandt by Wednesday. Good luck!  Nothing like a minivan loaded with books! Thanks, Adam! Wow! On Columbus Day, BookSmiles accepted a donation from Adam Feinstein, a young man who filled my mini van with over 1,300 quality books collected over month. They are mainly from friends and neighbors.
Adam's parents imbued in him a love of reading since he was a baby and he is paying it forward! South Jersey residents might have heard of a Williamstown Elementary School closing recently to remove all traces of black mold. This means that all the books have to be incinerated. Already, a few people affiliated with the school have reached out to BookSmiles to help get replacements for classroom libraries. Some of Adam's donation will help meet the demand! Keep the donations coming!
A few days ago, Colleen Fee, a Moorestown mom reached out and said she heard about BookSmiles through a friend, and mentioned that she had 17 cases of books, mostly ranging from middle school to early high school. I asked where she got so many books, and she went on to mention that her family habitually hoarded books, but now that everyone has tablets, they no longer buy physical books so much.
I drove over to pick them up and there they were - a treasure trove of a few hundred immaculate books, many of which were hardcover. The next day, I brought them to my students, and they dove in. I explained that these books were once loved by the children in just one family. My students could barely believe that one family could have so many books! What a wonderful way to start our year-long "Pick-it-read-it" Program! Thank you Fee family! |
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