OUR LATEST PROJECTS:
MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE BOOKS TO KIDS

We've had great success with book drives. They're simple, easy, and direct. If your school would like to set up a collection box for new books (or slightly used) for kids in need, just get in touch with us and we'll give you the contact information of a school or organization serving those kids. You can collect and ship the books directly.

Donations are also a great way to give. Kids in Need - Books in Deed can get books at a discount and therefore get more books into kids' hands.

In addition to the Title I schools listed in "Participating Schools," we are actively seeking Book-Drive Volunteers to start up collections for the following kids:

BOOKS TO KIDS WITH INCARCERATED PARENTS:

When children go to visit an incarcerated parent, they aren't allowed toys or games, but they are allowed books. We've been asked to try to find ways to build these libraries and also to have some books on hand to give away.

BOOKS TO KIDS IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM:

We recently received a letter from a foster parent, underscoring the need to reach kids in the foster care system.

"As a foster parent, I have many children who come through our home who are way below grade level...My goal is to help foster parents in our area get a personal library for these children to begin a love for reading or provide opprotunities to read books accessible to them no matter where they go. I would like to see each child possess a small library of books which can move with them when they leave our home. My hope is these books will be one's they share, trade or cherish for years to come."
We agree, wholeheartedly!

BOOKS TO KIDS IN SHELTERS:

Capital City Youth Services operates an 18-bed shelter—among others programs—that serves 10-17 year old youth in crisis and their families in the Big Bend area (Leon, Wakulla, Gadsden, Franklin, Madison, Taylor, Jefferson and Liberty counties). They typically see between 400 and 500 children a year through the shelter program. All of their services are provided free of charge. We have gotten over 250 new books to CCYS this past year (including books donated by young adult novelists Emily Franklin and Megan McCafferty and donations from the bookstore Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia), but we'd love to give more!

We also would like to get books to Community Partnership for Homeless. Since 1995, CPHI has been assisting homeless men, women and children in transitioning off the streets of Miami-Dade County and on their way to attaining greater stability and self-sufficiency in their lives. Visit their web site for more information: www.cphi.org

THE GIFT BOOK BRIGADE

We will continue to ask authors to donate new copies of their own titles and to hit up publishing houses for free books and discounts, but we are also hoping for financial donations from friends of Kids in Need - Books in Deed, friends like you.

GIVE A GIFT BOOK

To buy a book for a child, send a check to:

Kids in Need – Books in Deed
Attn: Nancy Smilowitz
Senior Director of Development
Office of the Dean College of Arts & Sciences
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1280

We do not accept donations of used books. If you have used books that you'd like to find a good home for, please contact us and we can get you connected to donation opportunities.

We will be working with a number of the authors from our list of Participating Authors so that we can get the books signed and inscribed, but we will not be limited to this list and will certainly be looking for the best books at the best prices so that we can serve as many children as possible.

IF YOU ARE AN AUTHOR

If you are an author who would like to donate your own books, thanks so much for thinking of us. Please do not use the FSU Foundation address for donations. Instead please contact Julianna Baggott for specific mailing instructions. And we would love for you to sign your books, maybe even add a funny, smart, inspiring inscription.

If you are an adult author interested in donating books, please get in touch. We have opportunities here as well.

 

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KIDS IN NEED - BOOKS IN DEED

This new program is bringing FREE books and FREE author visits to underprivileged schools and community organizations. How? In addition to private funding, schools that hope to inspire generosity and service in their students can sign up to sponsor a Write-A-Thon and the money raised will bring free books and authors to kids who need them most.

When children create a character, they are learning empathy. When they plot a story, they are learning strategic thought. When they invent what might happen next, they are developing their imaginations. When they are putting one word in front of the next, they are understanding, deeply, their language and finding their own voice.

Empathy. Strategic thought. Imagination. Language. Voice. Regardless of a child's path in life—into the sciences or business, the arts or politics—these elements will go into every worthwhile endeavor they undertake in their lives.

With the extreme wealth of Florida, there is also extreme poverty and often extreme weather which only compounds problems. In Putnam County, 28.9% of the children live in poverty—almost one out of every three. They are closely followed by Hardee and Hamilton, Desoto and Dixie. We will be serving Title One schools, where over 90% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches, as well as programs that serve Kids in Need. 

Help us bring authors to children in need. Help us make those books come alive. Help us to put books into children's hands, into children's homes.

Click here to learn how to donate now.

Click here to learn more about becoming a Write-A-Thon School in Deed.

ONE CHILD'S IMAGINATION FUELS ANOTHER CHILD'S EDUCATION!

A fund to support Kids in Need – Books in Deed is housed within the Florida State University Foundation.  For more information on how to participate in this project, please contact: Julianna Baggott.

 

"Kids in Need - Books in Deed is a dynamic and innovative way to foster reading, writing, and compassion in children..."

--Robert Olen Butler,
winner of the Pulitzer Prize

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