Children's Literacy and Big Announcements
A story, a schedule, subscription options, and links to kick off the academic year
Welcome to another Friday edition of PeaceLinks, where I share links relating to peace, cooperation, and uplifting work happening somewhere right now.
For back-to-school week, I’m shaking up the schedule and the formula on both of my Substacks, this one and Enchanted in America. For the main feature here, I’m going to introduce you to a special program of my own that supports childhood literacy, and then we’ll get to some related links to other people’s literacy programs further down the post.
Be sure to stick around for big announcements at the end, including a new schedule (lower frequency), a paid subscription option (but no paywalls here), and the 2-for-1 special with Enchanted in America, where there will be special content for paid subscribers.
Before all that, or even photographs, let me tell you a story.
Books in Every Home
In May of 2017, I learned about an impressive nonprofit in my area offering a full suite of services to help families out of homelessness — but something was missing: books!
Of course, shelter, jobs, and education are crucial for adults, but I pictured what the five-, eight-, and twelve-year-olds would be doing while their parents were working new jobs or going back to school. What are the chances, I asked, that the homes of recently homeless families contain high-quality children’s books — the kind of books that kids want to take down and reread for the sheer pleasure of it?
New books. Picture books. Poetry books. Humor books. The kind of books that compete with rent money. The ones too heavy to carry in a backpack from shelter to shelter. The ones that give a person dignity. On your shelf. In your home.
For some of us, childhood books were an ornamented doorway to our literacy education, school motivation, and even our ability to see positive futures for ourselves.
All that summer of 2017 I pushed these thoughts down. I told myself it was not my problem. I had enough on my plate.
Then came August and my university president’s back-to-school address. He spoke in his usual stirring and presidential way about faculty making experiences for students to build their resumés and connect them meaningfully with the community. Who told him?? Oh blast! It was like that moment in the Old Testament when a voice in the night calls Samuel a third time, and there’s no more ignoring it.
And so, in Fall 2017 a small program was born at my university called Books in Every Home. My students learned how to raise money, research new and award-winning children’s literature, arrange visits to Title I schools (where a majority of families qualify for economic support programs), hold the attention of six-year-olds, and give away books. Since then, the class has met more or less every fall and sometimes in spring, and every group of students has found some way to put its own stamp on the project.
Based on student preferences, we have partnered with many agencies in town: the local food bank, a literacy program serving refugee families, the homeless services office that inspired the project in the first place, and more. University students earn elective credit and build their resumés with project management, professional writing, teamwork, leadership, and more. And children whose parents can’t afford them receive hand-picked, shiny new, award-winning picture books with the most delightful literary characters and madcap stories of the year.
Photos: These children were just read to by a university student and then learned that the three books in their bags were theirs to take home and keep. We adjusted our methods but did not stop for COVID in 2020. Books in Every Home project, Fall 2021.
Links to Other Literacy Programs
We’re not the only literacy program around. Some of my favorite people anywhere, I’ve discovered, work in early childhood literacy access. Continuing today’s theme of book-love and children’s literacy, here are three more agencies working to support children’s literacy in the U.S. Click any photo to visit that organization’s home page.
The Children’s Literacy Initiative
The Children’s Literacy Initiative, with offices in Philadelphia, Chicago, Florida, and New Jersey, provides books to classrooms and professional development to teachers to improve literacy instruction, especially for Black and Latinx students.
First Nations Development Institute
The First Nations Development Institute, based in Colorado, provides grants for many aspects of Native economic and cultural well-being, including language preservation and child literacy. FNDI provides this 2018 selected reading list for kids.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Founded in 1995 in East Tennessee, the country-western singer’s literacy program sends one free book each month to registered children through age five.
And now . . . Big Announcements!
SCHEDULE: September through May, the frequency of PeaceLinks will change to monthly to make room for Books in Every Home and other work of the academic year, as well as new things at Enchanted in America. Starting September 15th, watch for PeaceLinks every 3rd Friday of the month.
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PAID OPTION: Today I am turning on a paid subscription option for both PeaceLinks and Enchanted in America. Why now? Because a portion of every subscription initiated in August or September — monthly or yearly — will be used to purchase books for the program I just described above, Books in Every Home.
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That’s right. I’m inviting you to make a paid subscription at the same time that I’m going to post with less frequency. I’ll post news of the literacy project at the end of monthly posts or in special updates, so you’ll know exactly where subscription dollars go.
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All PeaceLinks posts will continue to be available to both paid and free subscribers. Nothing on this site will be paywalled. The paid subscription option simply gives you a chance to let me know you value the work. If you prefer to subscribe for free, it’s lovely to have you here on those terms, too.
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TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL: To celebrate my three-month anniversary at PeaceLinks and six months of Enchanted in America, any paid PeaceLinks subscription now through September 30, 2023, grants you full access to Enchanted in America for the same month or year if you email me to request it at peacelinks@subtack.com. To avoid spamming you, I will only comp your Enchanted subscription if you tell me you wish it.
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Enchanted in America will post 2x/month for free and 2 more times per month for paid subscribers, including a new series called “One Small Thing.” (All subscribers to Enchanted in America will receive a free preview of that series coming soon.) Regular rates are $5/month or $50/year for PeaceLinks and $8/month or $80/year for Enchanted.
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2-for-1 Option A (Costs less): Choose a paid subscription to Peacelinks and email me for access to the full subscription at Enchanted. ($5/month or $50/year). Offer available for subscriptions initiated by midnight, U.S. Eastern time (9 p.m. Pacific), on September 30, 2023. Allow up to 2-3 days for me to manually add your Enchanted subscription after you send your email.
2-for-1 Option B (Contributes more; easier): Choose a free subscription to Peacelinks, then follow the button below to make a paid subscription to Enchanted in America ($8/month or $80/year). Your full access to both sites will be immediate and automatic. No email required. Available any time.
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Wherever you subscribe, if you choose a paid option, you’ll contribute to Books in Every Home.
Questions? Pop them into the comments below. Please know how much your interest encourages me to continue two newsletters, regardless of whether you are here as a free or paid subscriber or a curious visitor.
See you Sept. 15th on the new PeaceLinks schedule . . .
as we search monthly for links promoting peace, cooperation, and good juju.
2-for-1 Option B: Sign up for a free subscription at PeaceLinks above, and choose a paid subscription at Enchanted in America, below, for automatic access to all paid and free posts at both sites. No emails required:
If reading, liking, or sharing is better for you, thank you for supporting this young Substack any way that you can! 🙏 I’ve said a lot about paid posts today, but please know that ALL subscribers are valued here, and all PeaceLinks will remain free.
Wishing you much success, and appreciating how you are creating opportunities for this work to open doors for others. Channeling all the sweet, southern grandmothers I've known when I say, "Thank you, dear heart."
Very admirable work you're doing. First Nation Development Institute is one of my favorite charities and you've given me another reason to bump up my giving. Thanks again Tara for doing what you do.