During our fourth “Fun’raising Season” K is for Kids Foundation gave books to students attending 25 school and nonprofit organizations
greatly expanding our community outreach from the previous year!
To all our friends, supporters, and sponsors who made this happen, thank you!
R I S I N G R E A D E R S
Tiffany “TJ” Weeks, media specialist at Golden Terrace Elementary Intermediate, stands with the first students who took a reading pledge presented during their “Power Up With Reading” Pep Rally Weeks had given. The students go to choose their first new book to take home and keep, compliments of K is for Kids’ RISING READERS program. GTE is the focus school for the new initiative that supports media specialists’ efforts to encourage their students to read more while recognizing their reading achievements.
Our newest literacy program has enjoyed great success since it was introduced at the start of this school year and our grant recipients have given reports of significant increases in the number of books students are checking out from their school libraries. Rising Readers is helping children bring literacy home to their families and is building book nooks for kids(sm).
Rising Readers places books directly into students’ hands. This initiative was created to support the efforts of media specialists, reading coaches, and educational directors within schools and other nonprofit organizations to help them encourage their students to read more and to recognize reading achievements met.
The program is flexible and is being utilized in a variety of ways, from encouraging an entire student body to read specified book lists like Reading Counts to small student organized book clubs.
It all began at Golden Terrace Elementary-Intermediate, a pep rally by media specialist TJ Weeks (shown above) that was sponsored by K is for Kids encouraged students to take a pledge to read one book by a specified date and to complete its corresponding quiz. Each student who took the pledge was given the opportunity to choose a new book from Rising Readers to take home and keep. Students continue to receive new books from Rising Readers as they conquer more challenges set by Weeks and she has reported that the number of books being checked out by students has increased dramatically.
K is for Kids launched its literacy month in 2012 by taking the celebrations out to children in Immokalee at the Farm Workers Village. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Griffin, Media Specialist
Schools: East Naples Middle School, Everglades City, Golden GateElementary – Primary & Intermediate, Golden Gate Middle, Golden Gate High, Golden Terrace Elementary – Primary & Intermediate, Gulf Coast High School (book club), Highlands Elementary, Manatee Elementary, Shadowlawn Elementary, Village Oaks Elementary
Nonprofits: Collier County Housing Authority Land, Immokalee Child Care Center, Immokalee Farm Workers Village
F r i e n d s o f t h e S c h o o l L i b r a r y
Young students at Manatee Elementary School are thrilled to discover new books for their library. Students at Manatee love to read! Keeping up with the kid’s desire and need for new books to read is a challenge facing most school libraries these days — with increasing demands on disappearing budgets, the call grows more urgent for community members to help these children have the books they need to read to be successful in school and in life. Nonfiction books in science and technology are particularly prone to falling behind. With more than 60% of Collier County public school children categorized as “economically needy” by the district’s guidelines (meaning they are enrolled in the lunch assistance program), numerous schools have more than 80% of their students in critical need for food, clothing and shelter — sadly, these children may never own a book or have one to read at home. The only books these children may have access to are the ones found in their school library.
Our very first book donation program to enrich school libraries dates back to 2002 when founder Karen D. Clawson began raising more books for children to read through their school library at Laurel Oak Elementary School.
When parents learned of Clawson’s efforts, they asked how they could pitch in, so the next year, Clawson launched the first of what was to become a yearly book drive called the “Bring a Book, Bring a Friend®” Fun’raiser. With the support of the school’s community of families, staff, neighbors and business partners, thousands of books were raised for the students over the next four years.
As media specialist Marcia Kolmann noted in 2003 on the Fun’raisers invitation, “We have a wonderful challenge keeping up with our enthusiastic readers.” — Marcia Kolmann, Media Specialist, Laurel Oak Elementary School
Note: The Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Fun’raiser eventually grew into a full literacy month and the annual fun’raiser has extended into multiple fun’raising opportunities to teach children about the excitement of reading and the power of words. K is for Kids sponsors a wide array of literacy events for children all hosted and organized by our very own Teen Advisory Team!
Before the winter break, all third and fourth grade students at one Immokalee elementary school got the chance to choose a books to take home and keep thanks to the Teen “Head to Toe” Fashion Show when 126 Collier County students collected books for children.
Schools: Golden Gate Elementary – Primary & Intermediate, Golden Terrace Elementary – Primary & Intermediate, Immokalee High, Lake Trafford Elementary, Lely Elementary, Manatee Elementary, Pinecrest Elementary, and Village Oaks Elementary.
B u i l d i n g B o o k N o o k s f o r K i d s
2010: Children at the Boys & Girls Club of Collier County had 500 reasons to smile: 500 books were donated by North Naples Middle School students, with the support of Mr. Brad Preston and staff, in their “Books For Jeans Drive.” NNMS was the first school to conduct a book drive for K is for Kids, and the gifts, valued at approximately $3,000, made it the biggest single book donation in the Foundation’s fun’raising history!
Our third book donation program for nonprofit organizations that offer shared reading environments for children, whether it be a library, teachers’ classroom libraries, or other book nooks.
Preschool boy checks out his new cloth book from K is for Kids Building Book Nooks for Kids program.
AMIKids – Big Cypress, AMIKids-Ft. Myers, Boys & Girls Club of Collier County, Collier County Housing Authority Land, Immokalee Child Care Center, Immokalee Farm Workers Village
[To read more about our programs, please click here.]
Elizabeth Stone, March 2010
“I wanted to tell you how impressed I was with the teenagers who were volunteering at your “Kids Celebrate Reading!” Book Fair at Barnes & Noble – there were so polite and patient with the children while they were having their face painted and writing stories. They were an interesting group to speak with and everything. They just seemed to be really focused on their purpose for being there. What a great job they did!
The staff in the store were very polite and reception to our presence in the store and very accommodating.
I was so pleased my daughters were able to get their photo taken for your young authors books and that my oldest daughter got a chance to write a story.”
Elizabeth Stone, March 2010
Robert Dean Blair
Guest Author at Bring a Book, Bring a Friend® Fun’raiser benefiting the Village School, Spring 2006
Karen,
It was so nice seeing you and being exposed to the passion that you have for children’s need for books. So many give lip service, but you are actually contributing to children that you will never know. God bless.
Looking forward to your big event in September, I’ll help in anyway possible.
God bless,
Bob.
Mary L. Bryan
Hip! Hip! Hooray! We’re off to wonderful reading places
In our hearts K for Kids Foundation will stay!
We love our books and treat them nice
Books that give us information and sizzle with spice.
Our thanks we send and warm wishes too
For all the folks who made our dreams come true!
With books!
Lots of books!
Wonderful books!
ML Bryan and the GGE kids in grades 3, 4, 5
I couldn’t resist writing a poem in the spirit of Dr. Seuss! We
treasure our new books and our excitement grows more and more each day.
Thanks again.
Mary L. Bryan
GGE South
Media Specialist
Mary Will Gross on Facebook
Mary wrote:
“I am excited for you. I know it will be a great success for you this weekend….
You are a wonderful woman to work so smart to help the kids.
I am impressed with your skills to help in public education for all. Blessings, Mary Gros”
Comment on news item
Dear Karen,
My daughter and I participated in your wonderful event last year at Barnes and Noble and are interested in the book she had written a page. This was great fun for all!!! I was so thrilled to donate all our books that we have outgrown to such a wonderful organization. When will the “Young Authors Book” be available?
Liza Buffington Smith
Immokolee Housing & Family
Hello Mrs. Clawson,
Thank you SO MUCH for the books. The children are very excited. Please let me know what I can do for you as we continue our new friendship.
Thanks again!
Take care,
Lynn Bowen
Fun Time Academy
Hi Karen,
I too saw these online. What darling photos. Thanks so much for taking care of our children. They do love their books. Your teens were patient and nurturing to the children. A great time for all alike and books to last forever.
You are dear!
Franny
Lake Trafford Elem., Immokalee
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