A little incentive never hurts anyone-especially when it leads to education.
Founded in 1992, First Book is a nonprofit organization aimed at giving children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first books. In its first year, the organization gave approximately 12,000 new books to needy families living in three communities in the Washington, D.C., area. Since then, First Book has distributed more than 50 million new books across the United States, including more than 60,000 in the St. Louis area.
“We’re an international organization reaching to children all across the world so that they can have their very own new books,” said First Book’s Senior Vice President Wendy Bhagat. “St. Louis was a good place for us to take our work.”
For the last 10 years, First Book-St. Louis has featured its annual Penny-A-Page campaign, but this year’s event has a new spin.
The program, which runs Jan. 20 to 26, normally focuses on encouraging students from local schools to read books for a penny or more a page, as donated by the students’ sponsors. The money is then used to buy new books for needy families. This year, individuals of all ages, book clubs and home-schooled students are also invited to join the project. Students are rewarded with a free scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream for their efforts.
“It’s a project that is able to hit so many different, diverse segments of the community,” said Chairman of First Book-St. Louis Heather Winsby. “Penny-A-Page allows us to educate and encourage in the same program.”
In 2007, 486 St. Louis students raised a total of $10,036 after reading 110,173 pages. The students who raise funds for the program are as diverse as those who will receive new books from the profits.
“In the schools we go into, some of the kids aren’t big readers,” Winsby said. “Sometimes the kids are the ones [who] need the books themselves and the project will encourage them to read as well . and sometimes, the kids [who] have the resources are made aware that there are kids [who] don’t have the same things they do. Everyone can benefit.”
The program is set to end on Jan. 26 but can be extended if interest is taken, Winsby said.
“If any groups are interested in participating next week or the week after, we would be more than happy to consider extending the project for anyone who wants to be a part of it,” Winsby said. “To me, it’s really all about participation . It’s not so much about the dollars, it’s about just making sure the participation is there.”
More information about the Penny-A-Page project and information about how to participate, can be found at www.firstbook.org/stlouis.
