The East Bay Children’s Book Project helps put books into the homes of children who don’t have them.  Now a study says that children who grow up in homes with books are more likely to stay in school for longer – and that this may be true whether their parents are highly literate or not.  And here’s the best part – you can help do something about it!  (Read all the way to the end …)

According to the May 21, 2010 online issue of Science Daily, a 20-year-long study showed that having 500 books in the home can be as important as having university-educated parents in determining how much education a child will receive.  But you don’t need a big personal library to have an effect on your child’s education or literacy: according to the study, children with even 20 books in the home got higher levels of education than those without any books.  And the effect was greater when the parents had less education.

Are there really families with no books at all in their homes?  Sadly, yes.  Literacy, and the lack of it, is a huge issue.  An estimated one in four English-speaking adults in the United States can’t read well enough to complete a job application.  And when money is tight, buying books is low on the list.

That’s where the East Bay Children’s Book Project comes in.  Our clients get books into the hands of children who need them.  For example, the Families for Literacy Program of the Oakland (California) Public Library’s Second Start Adult Literacy Program gives over 1,000 books a year to the children of adult literacy learners.  These children will grow up with books in their homes.

YOU CAN HELP! Organize a book drive for the East Bay Children’s Book Project at your office, school, place of worship, or among friends.  Ask a local business to host one of our book collection bags; contact us to find out more.  Spread the word: tell your friends who work for organizations benefiting children about us.  Or make a donation to help us buy new books and cover our expenses!  Support the East Bay Children’s Book Project.  We make education happen!

Happy new year!  The East Bay Children’s Book Project humbly offers a few New Year’s resolutions that we hope will make your lives, and those of the East Bay’s children, happier and more book-filled in 2010:

• Come see us! The East Bay Children’s Book Project will re-open on January 5, 2010. We’re at 2008 Park Boulevard in Oakland and we’re open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 6.  You can get free books every time we are open, so come early and often!
• Tell a friend, bring a friend!  Our whole purpose is to get as many books as possible into the hands of children in need.  Help us spread the word!
• Help us help you!  Do you know someone whose children have outgrown their books?  A teacher who is retiring and doesn’t know what to do with his classroom library?  Someone who might want to do a book drive?  We accept new and gently used books for children of all ages (for more details: http://www.eastbaychildrensbookproject.org/donate-books/) Or drop a couple of bucks in our jar, or tell a rich relative about us …
• Join our team!  We’ve always got things going on; just email eastbaycbp@gmail.com if you’re interested in joining our terrific all-volunteer team.

And two more, not really related to the Book Project, but near and dear to our heart:

• Go to your local branch library and take something out.  Don’t have a card?  Get one.  Don’t know what to borrow?  Talk to the librarian.  Our libraries are under-utilized treasures, and if we don’t use them, they won’t get funded, and then we won’t have them.  And we will surely miss them if we lose them!
• If you can afford it, buy something at an Oakland bookstore.  Brick-and-mortar stores are having a hard time, but without bookstores our city would surely be a poorer place.  That’s true both metaphorically and literally – money you spend locally stays in the local economy, unlike money you spend online.  Oakland has many terrific stores selling new, used and specialty books: go browse and take something home.  Books are treasures in your home.

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon –

Your friends at the East Bay Children’s Book Project

THROUGH DECEMBER 22, 2009

GREAT NEW BOOKS FOR YOU

We’ve got great dictionaries!  Thanks to a generous donation from the California Dictionary Project, we have 9 cases of brand-new dictionaries. If you teach 3rd grade or above, please come get a set for your whole class.

Hoopoe Books are coming.  They emailed us last week thanking us for all the nice notes you sent last year and offering us more books this year. So … as soon as they can get our order together, we will be getting them. They will definitely arrive before the holidays.  We ordered 5,000 this year so we can afford to be very generous with them.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Got a car and a little time?  We are looking for someone to pick up books at the Storyteller in Lafayette.  It would probably be about once a month and can be done with a small car in the evening or weekend.

Come join our team!  We need help counting, sorting and distributing books through the end of 2009. The number of books and clients keeps growing.

Please email eastbaycbp@gmail.com if you are interested in either of these opportunities.

WE HATE TO ASK, BUT …

Thanks to all of you who read our last email and sent donations. We hate to ask, but if we are to continue providing services to you, we need to pay our bills. So please encourage your friends and family to make a tax deductible donation before the end of the year. You can make a secure donation online or mail it to EBCBP, 2008 Park Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Don’t forget, we will be closed December 18th through January 4th. The last day to get books will be December 17th.

Thanks for all your support,

Your friends at the East Bay Children’s Book Project