Youth Venture

November 21, 2008 - 10:18am — myownbook

What would My Own Book do if we won $10,000 from Best Buy @ 15?

If we won $10,000 from Best Buy@ 15 we would use it to buy books! We just started buying books directly from publishers at sharply discounted prices so we could buy 8,000 brand new books. That would make an awful lot of happy children and spread the joy of reading in a big way.

We've learned events work- they create excitement and make the kids excited about reading

Volunteers like to be a part of events- they get to experience the difference they are making in the community

Events lead to publicity about reading and My Own Book. This leads to more events and opportunities to share the joy of reading.

We've also learned that sharing the joy of reading is like rolling a snowball down a hill- it just gets bigger and bigger the more support we have. In our first year we gave out 848 books. By year two we had given out 10,000 books. Now, midway through year three we have given away more than 15,000 books. So, really, the Best Buy @ 15 money would mean delivering even more than 8,000 books!

This February we are hosting a Share the Love of Reading for adults and teens to buy their favorite children's book and read it to a child. We'll have a spot on our website at www.myownbook.net for folks to write in about the book they chose, and the experience. We'll also send out bookplates to all participants.

Spreading the joy of reading is fun! Giving books out to children and seeing their eyes light up with excitement is a great feeling. Winning a $10,000 Best Buy@15 grant would spark the joy of reading and the joy of volunteering in a HUGE way.