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The
Books for Kids Foundation promotes literacy among all children
with special
emphasis on disadvantaged children and youth. Books for Kids: |
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NEWS
News Sheltering Arms Press Release
Nyack
Center Press Release
BFK
Distributes 56,000 Books So Far in 2003
Starbucks/BFK Library Opens at Wyandanch Day Care Center
Starbucks
Coffee Partners with BFK to Create Ten Children's Libraries
Passages
Academy at Horizon Juvenile Center
BFK
Creates Children's Library at Marcy Children's Center
BFK
Creates Children's Library at Buffalo Child Care Center
BFK Creates Children's Library at Yonkers Children's Center
Attorney
General's Grant Supplies Thousands of Books
For Archived News Click Here
News Sheltering Arms Press Release
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BOOKS
FOR KIDS AND THE TOWN SCHOOL RENOVATE AND EXPAND
CHILDREN'S LIBRARY |
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AT
SHELTERING ARMS DAY CARE CENTER IN HARLEM
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| NEW YORK, February 12, 2004-The 100 children who spend time every day at the Sheltering Arms Day Care Center in Harlem now have access to a fully appointed library and literacy center containing 450 beautiful new books for young children, thanks to a renovation project initiated by the Books for Kids Foundation and supported by The Town School in Manhattan. | |
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The dedication of the library will take place at 10 a.m, on Thursday, February 19, at 2311 Fifth Avenue, between 139th and 140th Streets. The celebration will include a ribbon-cutting, a performance by the children, brief remarks and refreshments. |
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| Students, their parents and administrators from The Town School volunteered to help paint the library and shelve the books on January 10, 2004. Parents from The Town School also donated fifty new books to the collection. Christopher Marblo, Head of The Town School, said, "The renovation of the library at Sheltering Arms Day Care Center was a project that was a perfect fit for students, staff and parents from The Town School, and became a focal point for our family community service projects. We were happy to take part in this project, and we hope the children from Sheltering Arms enjoy their new library." | |
| The library upgrade also includes the addition of children's furniture, books on tape, big books and motivational decorations. "We wanted to create a warm and welcoming space where the children of Sheltering Arms were encouraged to discover the magic of stories and develop good reading skills," said Danièle Favre-Panayotatos, Executive Director of Books for Kids. | |
| "The library is a wonderful resource for the children in our care and for our staff," said Annie Anderson, director of Sheltering Arms Day Care. "We are grateful to Books for Kids and the Town School for giving us this special gift that enhances our literacy curriculum and increases our ability to prepare these children well for school and for their future." | |
| Sheltering Arms Day Care is managed by Sheltering Arms Children's Service and serves neighborhood families that must meet certain eligibility requirements for their children to participate in the center's programs. | |
| The Town School, located at 540 East 76th Street, is committed to elementary coeducation, cultivating the joy of learning in a rigorous and nurturing environment. Town School students develop a heightened sense of moral responsibility and social awareness through age-appropriate service within The Town School Community and in the community at large. For more information, please visit www.thetownschool.org. | |
| The Books for Kids Foundation
promotes literacy among all children, with special emphasis on disadvantaged
children and youth. Books for Kids distributes donated books, creates
libraries and participates in reading initiatives within community-based
organizations, social service agencies, schools and under-served institutions.
Since its founding in 1986, Books for Kids has established 37 libraries
and put more than 5 million books valued at $42 million into the hands
of children, working in partnership with more than 250 child-serving agencies.
For more information, visit www.booksforkidsfoundation.org |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
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BOOKS
FOR KIDS AND STARBUCKS COFFEE PARTNER TO DEDICATE
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CHILDREN'S
LIBRARY AT THE NYACK CENTER
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| New York, January 28, 2004 - Over 70 children from low-income families in Nyack will now have daily access to hundreds of high-quality, age-appropriate books, thanks to the new 535-volume children's library and literacy center established by the Books for Kids Foundation at the Nyack Center located at 58 Depew Avenue in Nyack, NY. A ribbon-cutting ceremony with local elected officials will take place on Wednesday, February 4 at 4 pm. A continuing partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company and Books for Kids helped support this project. | |
| The Books for Kids library offers a diverse collection of new, top-quality, age-appropriate children's books with themes ranging from letters, numbers and colors to multiculturalism and common life experience. Character books, fairy tales and folk tales are also included. A listening center with a cassette player for books on tapes, posters, puppets, and parenting resource information make the library a comprehensive literacy center. | |
| "By creating a warm, welcoming place that exposes these young children to the magic of reading, we hope to foster positive early experiences that will enhance their future literacy and love of books," said John G. Tucker, Chairman of the Books for Kids Foundation. | |
| "The gift of a book to a child especially a needy one is priceless," said Kim Cross, Executive Director of The Nyack Center. "Imagine our gratitude to Books for Kids for a whole library. Over 25 volunteers from Starbucks and StarKids came and labeled and organized the library. It was a magical day," continued Cross. Nyack Center serves the Nyacks and the larger community of Rockland by providing programs, facilities and opportunities for service. The Center offers programs that nurture children, teens and families, and provide space for those with similar goals, and always welcomes new volunteers and ideas. | |
| "At Starbucks, giving back to our communities is the way we do business," said Hope Tannenbaum, spokesperson, Starbucks Coffee Company. "The Books for Kids program offers a great opportunity to get books into the hands of local children and provide a resource for the community." | |
| The Books for Kids Foundation promotes literacy among all children, with special emphasis on disadvantaged children and youth. Books for Kids donates books, creates libraries and participates in reading initiatives within community-based organizations, social service agencies, schools and under-served institutions. Since its funding in 1986, Books for Kids has put more than 5 million books valued at an estimated $42 million into the hands of children who might not otherwise have access to them. The Nyack Center is the 37th library that Books for Kids has established throughout the New York region. For more information, visit www.booksforkidsfoundation.org. | |
| Starbucks Coffee Company is
the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world,
with more than 6,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America,
Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed
to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while
conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and
economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition
to its retail operation, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino®
coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot™ coffee drink, and a line of
superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company's
other brands enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products:
Tazo Tea Company offers a line of innovative premium teas, and Hear Music
produces and distributes a line of exceptional compact discs. |
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From January 2003 to October 2003
The Books For Kids Foundation has distributed more than 56,000 books,
worth more than $280,000 to 56 children's service agencies, and including
more than 6,000 books to each of our 4 regional chapters. This is almost
34,000 more books than last year and the years not over yet, Books For
Kids plans to give away at least 70,000 books for the year 2003!!!!
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BOOKS FOR KIDS FOUNDATION AND STARBUCKS COFFEE PARTNER TO OPEN A NEW CHILDREN'S LIBRARY WITHIN THE WYANDANCH DAY CARE CENTER |
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NEW YORK, September
25, 2003- Children from the hamlet of Wyandanch in the town of Babylon
will now have daily access to hundreds of high-quality science, art and
cultural books, thanks to the new 600-volume children's library and newly
furnished Wyandanch Day Care Center developed by Books for Kids Foundation
and Starbucks Coffee. A library dedication ceremony with local elected
officials will take place on Friday, October 3rd at 10:30 a.m. The Wyandanch
project is part of a larger initiative and partnership between Books For
Kids and Starbucks to enhance 10 libraries in the New York metro region.
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With support from Starbucks,
the Books For Kids Foundation has provided the Wyandanch Day Care with
a diverse collection of new, library-quality character books, concept
books, fairy tales, folk tales and stories on tape. Age-appropriate children's
literature with multicultural and reading readiness themes will enhance
the language skills of early learners and acquaint them with different
aspects of the world in which they live.
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In addition to the donation
of children's literature, the Starbucks Architecture Group, their in-house
design department, designed and renovated a classroom space transforming
it into a library with a large castle book nook, larger-than-life flower
furniture, magnetic poetry boards, stuffed sofas and a kaleidoscopic room-size
whimsical mural. The space was designed to reflect a cozy, home-like environment
in which children can settle in and learn to read. Piece Management, Inc.
a Long Island/NJ-based retail renovation contractor collaborated with
Starbucks by donating all of the labor, construction supplies and contracting
services to the project.
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"By creating a welcoming setting that reflects the magic of reading, we hope to foster positive early experiences that will encourage the children's future literacy and love of books," said Rocco Staino, Chairman of Books For Kids Foundation. |
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Wyandanch Day Care Center
is entering its 35th year of continuous integrated childcare services
for the children of the community's economically disadvantaged population.
Established February 26, 1969, when Louise Hamlett, a long time human
rights activist and other civil rights leaders and activists appealed
to the late New York State Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, for funding to
construct a childcare center. Wyandanch Day Care Center, Inc. is licensed
for 250 children 6 weeks - 12 years of age.
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Louise Hamlett, the Executive
Director of Wyandanch Day Care Center for over twenty years, is a long
time advocate for a population that historically remains underserved.
Hamlett said, "I am very happy to have been awarded, the Books For
Kids grant. I'm thrilled that children will have a magic place to call
their own; for many community children, this library serves as their only
source of enriched learning experiences."
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A proud supporter of local
literacy and community development programs, Starbucks Coffee is pleased
to be involved with this worthwhile project. Regional spokesperson Daniel
Lewis added, "The Books for Kids program is a great way to help local
children read and give them access to books, while providing a resource
for the community."
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About Starbucks Coffee
Company
Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 6,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino® coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot™ coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company's other brands enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products: Tazo Tea Company offers a line of innovative premium teas, and Hear Music produces and distributes a line of exceptional compact discs. |
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Starbucks commitment to
New York City/Metro New York area |
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In the past year, Starbucks
in the New York City/Metro New York area has contributed over $65,000
in funding via local grants and thousands of hours of partner (employee)
time to local volunteer efforts. Community projects have included organizing
park clean-ups and Earth Day programs, issuing grants for local literacy
organizations including Books for Kids and Community~Word, and sponsorship
of public events including the River to River Festival and the Tribeca
Film Festival. Starbucks 2002 Holiday Angels Toy Drive gathered over 25,000
toys for local children in need and the 2003 All Books for Children Book
Drive collected over 124,000 books for area literacy programs.
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Starbucks
Coffee Partners with Books for Kids to Create Ten Children's Libraries
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| In a partnership to promote literacy in local communities, Starbucks Coffee and Books for Kids are joining forces to develop 10 children's libraries in the New York metro region. The first Books for Kids/Starbucks library at Yonkers Children's Place was dedicated in March, and the second, at Wyandanch Day Care Center, opened in October. |
| Continuing the campaign, libraries will be opening at the FEGS Hempstead Multi-Service Center, the Nyack Center, and the Family Service League's Manor Field Family Center in Huntington Station later in 2003. |
| In addition, the partnership is making book grants worth $10,000 to five New York City public schools: IS 184 (Bronx), PS 282 (Brooklyn), The Ralphe Bunche School (PS 125, Manhattan), the William T. Davis School (PS 31, Staten Island) and The Duke Ellington Scool (PS 140Q in Jamacia, Queens). |
| "At Starbucks, giving back to our communities is part of our culture," said Daniel Lewis, regional spokesperson, Starbucks Coffee. "We support local community programs that promote youth leadership through the power of literacy and respect for diversity. This premise is at the core of the Books for Kids program. We are excited that these libraries will help to pub books into the hands of local children and provide a substantive resource for communities throughout metro New York. |
| Starbucks has provided $30,000 to Books for Kids for the project, and an additional $20,000 in supplies and services to enhance selected sites. Starbucks partners (employees from the stores and regional offices) are helping to set up the libraries. |
| In 2000, Books for Kids was a beneficiary of the company's "All Books for Children" book drive. |
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Passages
Academy at Horizon Juvenile Center
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Books for Kids celebrated
the ribbon-cutting of the Passages Academy Library at Horizon Juvenile
Center in the Bronx on Thursday, September 18, 2003. Our contribution
to the lock-down detention center's first library included a specially
developed and diverse collection of 324 new books for teens, six secure
book cabinets, a listening center with books on tape, and motivational
posters. Books for Kids also gave each young person living at Horizons
on opening day a book of their own to keep.
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Under the management of
the NYC Department of Education, Passages Academy provides credit-bearing
courses and educational services to more than 4,000 young people in detention
every year. The children at Horizon are between the ages of 11 and 16.
Knowing that re-arrest rates decline when these teens are engaged in quality
reading programs, Rebecca Weinstein, literacy program coordinator at Passages,
initiated an ambitious literacy effort focusing on best-practice pedagogy,
programming around books, and the creation of the first on-site libraries
at these centers. Books for Kids was proud to be part of this inspired
project.
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BOOKS
FOR KIDS CREATES CHILDREN'S LIBRARY |
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--Named in honor of Brooklyn Native Muriel Feldshuh- |
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NEW YORK, May 22, 2003-The
Books for Kids Foundation announced the opening of its newest children's
library and literacy center at the Marcy Children's Center in Brooklyn.
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Serving the 65 pre-school
children who attend the center each day, the library offers a diverse
collection of more than 350 new, top-quality, age-appropriate children's
books. A listening center with a cassette player for books on tapes, posters,
a rocking chair, story-telling puppets and motivational decorations make
the library a comprehensive resource to nurture emerging literacy.
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The dedication of the library
took place on Friday, May 30, 2003, at 10 a.m. Marcy Children's Center
is located at 494 Marcy Street, in Williamsburg's Marcy Houses. A ribbon-cutting,
a performance by the children, brief remarks by officials and refreshments
will complete the event.
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Financing for the library
came from a multi-year grant funded by a court-approved settlement distribution
plan developed by the Office of the New York State Attorney General.
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Books for Kids is naming
the facility to honor Muriel Feldshuh, a Williamsburg native who enjoyed
a 37-year career as a teacher in the neighborhood's public schools, including
30 years as a library teacher. Muriel and her husband, Steven Braunstein,
have created 13 Books for Kids children's libraries; Marcy is their fourth
library in Brooklyn. A special corner honoring children's author Ezra
Jack Keats is their gift to the children of Marcy Children's Center.
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Kids/Muriel Feldshuh library
will help prepare them to face the challenges of school," said Rocco
Staino, Chairman of the Books for Kids Foundation.
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"We are delighted to have this new resource for our children and teachers," said Ella Revells, Director of the Marcy Children's Center. "Books and pre-reading skills have always been central to our curriculum, and now we have a special place dedicated exclusively to this aspect of our mission." |
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Marcy Children's Center is managed by Sheltering Arms Children's Service and serves neighborhood families that must meet certain eligibility requirements for their children to participate in the center's programs. |
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The Books for Kids Foundation promotes literacy among all children, with special emphasis on disadvantaged children and youth. Books for Kids distributes donated books, creates libraries and participates in reading initiatives within community-based organizations, social service agencies, schools and under-served institutions. Since its founding in 1986, Books for Kids has established 32 libraries and put more than 5 million books valued at $42 million into the hands of children, working in partnership with more than 250 child-serving agencies. |
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Books
for Kids Foundation Opens Library and Literacy Center in Buffalo Child
Care Center
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Books for
Kids Foundation has created a new library at Holy Innocents Child Care
Center of Catholic Charities on April 30 in BUFFALO, NY. For More Information Click Here |
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BOOKS
FOR KIDS AND STARBUCKS COFFEE PARTNER TO DEDICATE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY AT
YONKERS CHILDREN'S PLACE
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| NEW YORK, March 18, 2003-Over 100 children from low-income families in Yonkers now have daily access to hundreds of high-quality, age-appropriate books, thanks to the new 400-volume children's library and literacy center established by the Books for Kids Foundation at Yonkers Children's Place, a child care center located at 10 St. Joseph's Avenue in Yonkers. A ribbon-cutting ceremony with local elected officials took place on Thursday, March 27 at 2 p.m. A newly formed partnership between Starbucks Coffee and Books for Kids helped support this project. |
| Giving Yonkers children more access to books The Books for Kids library offers a diverse collection of new, top-quality, age-appropriate children's books with themes ranging from letters, numbers and colors to multiculturalism and common life experiences. Character books, fairy tales and folk tales are also included. A listening center with a cassette player for books on tapes, posters, puppets and parenting resource information make the library a comprehensive literacy center. |
| "By creating a warm, welcoming place that exposes these young children to the magic of reading, we hope to foster positive early experiences that will enhance their future literacy and love of books," said Rocco Staino, Chairman of the Books for Kids Foundation. |
| "I expect the library to quickly become a central component of our literacy-focused curriculum and one of the most popular spots in the center," said Dina Bove, Director of Yonkers Children's Place. Managed by the Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Yonkers Childrens Place has transformed itself to a model Head Start site, after being classified "at risk" three years ago. |
| "At Starbucks, giving back to our communities is the way we do business," said Daniel Lewis, regional spokesperson, Starbucks Coffee. "The Books for Kids program is a great way to put books into the hands of local children and provide a resource for the community." |
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Attorney
General's Grant Supplies
Thousands of Books for Thousands of Kids |
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The Books for Kids Foundation has been busy programming the $250,000 grant it received in spring 2000 as part of a court-approved settlement distribution plan developed by the office of New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer. |
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| As of May 2003 these funds have been used to: | |
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Supply 39 mini-libraries at Head Start centers around New York, classrooms of the Brooklyn Kindergarten Society and other child care centers with limited book supplies. |
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Help restock 18 older Books for Kids libraries created since 1996. |
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Provide books and furnishings for 8 completed libraries in deserving locations and support plans for 9 more. |
| "The AG grant has enabled Books for Kids to get thousands of books to thousands of children during these challenging financial times," said Marion Sullivan, Books for Kids board member. "We are grateful that the New York State Attorney General shares our belief in the power of early literacy." | |
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Volunteer With Us The Books
for Kids Foundation |
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