First Book is a non-profit organization based out of Washington D.C. that works towards getting new "age appropriate" books into the hands of children from low-income families.
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Founded in 1992 by Peter Gold, Elizabeth Arky, and the current president Kyle Zimmer; First Book was designed to help get books into the hands of children who need them the most. Working with existing literacy programs such as Head Start centers, libraries, and after school initiatives, First Book ensures preschools and education programs have "age appropriate" books and evoke children's interest in reading. In their first year, First Book distributed approximately 12,000 books to three communities and has since distributed millions of books to children across the nation.[1]
As president and co-founder of First Book, an organization providing new books to children in need, Kyle Zimmer has earned a reputation as a leader in the fight to end illiteracy. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Ashoka and was named 2007 Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the United States by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2008, Kyle was named the first ever American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. Under Kyle’s leadership, First Book has distributed nearly 80 million books to children in thousands of communities since 1992.
First Book organizes book distribution events, social enterprise and cause-based marketing campaigns, network engagement, and a large number of public/private partnerships:
Through partnerships with publishing organizations the First Book National Book Bank and the First Book Marketplace provide an ongoing supply of new books to community and mentoring based programs that encourage children to become lifetime readers.
Over the past 16 years First Book's distribution system has united over 20,000 programs and distributed over 65 million new books to children in many communities.
In 2005, First Book launched Book Relief, a campaign to get books to those devastated by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In the beginning, Book Relief held nine book distributions which helped get 1.5 million new books to individuals, school districts, and public libraries. Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network became the first major donor and contributor to Book Relief with a three-year grant for $250,000 dollars. In 2006, Book Relief focused on getting books to institutions and programs directly along the Gulf Coast. By the end of the year First Book had distributed over 3.6 million books. In the final phase of Book Relief in 2007, First Book concentrated on helping get books to the New Orleans area by working out of a US Coast Guard facility. Thanks to the help of countless volunteers Book Relief was a complete success, distributing 5.1 million books to over 20 states, 200 libraries, and 2059 programs.
Three years ago, First Book served over 4,500 programs. By 2008 with the rollout of its revenue-generating storefront and increased title selection on the FBMP more than 20,000 organizations have now registered with First Book. With such exponential growth First Book plans to build the first global resources network.
Polling expert Louis Harris conducted two studies on First Book for the Department of Education; first in June 1999 and then in January 2003. These studies concluded that First Book has had a positive impact on shaping children’s outlook on reading. To quote Louis Harris,
In the end, these disadvantaged children, the least likely candidates to become literate, are close to matching stride for stride the steps that must be taken for them to learn to read and to become literate human beings. First Book is the indispensable catalyst providing the wherewithal for it all to happen.[3]