First Book is a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

Description:
Our community-based, volunteer-led Advisory Boards are responsible for implementing First Book activities at the local level. These Boards raise funds locally and grant books to qualified programs in their communities. A typical book grant lasts for a one-year period and offers each child in the program a steady diet of books (usually a book a month), all at no cost to the program. Because program administrators select the titles through First Book catalogs, First Book enables programs -- often for the first time --to select books to integrate into curriculum. First Book works to effectively leverage the heroic efforts of local tutoring, mentoring, and family literacy organizations already reaching the children who need help the most.

First Book is interested in establishing an Advisory Board to serve the San Antonio community on an ongoing basis. First Book Advisory Boards have four main tasks:

• Building your Board, pulling together a diverse group of volunteers interested in children's literacy
• Identifying potential recipient groups in the community and conducting the book grant application process
• Community-based fundraising
• Participate with First Book partners to launch national initiatives on the local level



History:
First Book was founded in 1992. The First Book model was developed to leverage the work of local heroes who reach children through existing literacy programs in a variety of settings, such as Head Start centers, libraries, soup kitchens, churches, housing projects, and after-school initiatives. Working through this vast network of organizations, First Book plays a critical role in transforming the quality of preschool and after-school programs nationwide.

First Book's model is national in scope and local in impact. In our first year, First Book distributed approximately 12,000 books in three communities. Since that time, First Book has distributed more than 50 million books to children across the country.



Contact person: Elena Bush, Manager, Community Development, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (202) 628-1258

Address:


1319 F St., NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20004 (See a map)


Web Site: http://www.FirstBook.org

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