NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville youth literacy nonprofit Book’em is donating over 26,000 books through the end of December to help ensure kids across the city have physical books to read over the long holiday break.
These donations were possible through multiple partnerships:
- Over 3,750 donated books to Last Minute Toy Store.
- Over 16,000 books to 16 Title I Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), through the Book’em Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program. Book’em worked directly with the teachers and administrators at MNPS to arrange for students to receive their books.
- 3,600 wrapped books for children across the city from New England Patriots linebacker and Nashville resident Dont’a Hightower.
- 1,800 books for middle school students experiencing homelessness, donated in partnership with the MNPS Hero Program.
The holidays are a leaner time for many families in Nashville, and this year has brought challenges that emphasize disparities on a larger scale. While these books are not holiday gifts, they will serve as a motivation to keep reading during the break.
Giving children access to physical books at home profoundly impacts a child’s academic achievement by improving reading performance, increasing levels of confidence, and growing the desire to read and learn more. Physical books give students a break from being on a screen and are a necessary tool in literacy development for young children.
Along with the book donation program, Book’em administers the RIF classroom reader program in elementary classrooms across Nashville. This school year, Book’em has worked with MNPS teachers to move the program to a virtual setting, and this effort will continue into the new year. Anyone who is interested in recording a video book reading for the “Oh, The Books We’ll Read” online platform can sign up to volunteer at https://bookem-kids.org/volunteer-application/.
For further information, please contact:
Jocelyn Kirk, Book’em, (571) 332-4790, jocelyn@bookem-kids.org
About Book’em
Book’em is a local children’s literacy nonprofit focusing on two core areas: providing volunteer readers to local preschools and elementary schools, and collecting and distributing new books to economically disadvantaged children and teens in Davidson County who might not otherwise have books of their own. The organization’s mission is to create a more literate Nashville and to ignite children’s passion for reading through book ownership and enthusiastic volunteers. Programs include Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), Ready for Reading, Books for Nashville’s Kids and Read Me Day. For more information, please visit www.bookem–kids.org.
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