Kids Need to Read Donates Books for Libraries

Nonprofit Organization Aids in Child Literacy Development

Jul 8, 2009

Nonprofit organization Kids Need to Read raises money through donations and Ebay online auctions to buy books for schools, libraries, and other institutions in need.

When science fiction writer PJ Haarsma toured the United States and Canada to promote his science fiction book series The Softwire, he discovered two things – kids love reading, yet many schools and public libraries are too under-funded to provide a large selection of fiction books for kids.

“I’d have kids following me into the parking lot begging for [Softwire] books,” states Haarsma in an April 16, 2009 phone interview. “One little girl got a movie ticket for a Christmas present and offered to trade me the ticket for a book.”

Wanting to address this problem, Haarsma teamed up with his friends – actor Nathan Fillion (Captain Mal Reynolds from TV’s Firefly), office manager Denise Gary, and others – to form Kids Need to Read (KNTR), an organization devoted to raising money to buy children’s books for schools, libraries, and nonprofit institutions in need.

Sci Fi Fans Help With Nonprofit Fundraising

Initially, KNTR raised funds for books by selling autographed sci fi memorabilia of Fillion’s Firefly TV show and Serenity movie, as well as packages of Haarsma’s Softwire books, through Ebay online auctions. Support also came from Browncoats – Firefly fans – who donated sci fi memorabilia for the auctions. In 2008, at the suggestion of Denise Gary, the organization’s CEO, KNTR became a 501 c3 tax exempt nonprofit organization.

Selecting Books for Schools, Libraries, and Clinics

“To me the number one priority of an elementary school is to make sure they make strong readers of every child that walks through their door. And yet today you’ve got huge funding cutbacks – and the first things that go are books and librarians,” states Gary in a May 28, 2009 face-to-face interview, who notes that, according to a 2003 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, 85% of juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.

To encourage literacy, KNTR buys books from a list provided by veteran children’s book buyer Faith Hochhalter. Titles range from very popular books such as Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society series to more obscure titles like Victoria Forester’s The Girl Who Could Fly that have proven popular with reluctant readers.

While KNTR provides books for all ages, many of its books are intended to appeal to reluctant middle grade readers. Haarsma notes that as readers approach the eighth grade, books begin being seen as school assignments and not entertainment or enjoyable information, making kids lose interest in reading.

To date, KNTR has placed over 5000 books in Ontario, Puerto Rico, and twenty-four U.S. states. They have donated to forty-one individual libraries and schools, many inner city or small charter schools, as well as three multiple library systems. KNTR also sends books to children’s clinics, such as the North Public Health Clinic and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle, which receive continuous donations from KNTR.

KNTR Literacy Development Programs

Although KNTR’s primary mission remains donating books, it also creates programs that let kids take an active role in encouraging literacy. Students who receive KNTR books are encouraged to submit book reviews to KNTR’s website for publication – and one of their youngest volunteers, twelve-year-old cooking enthusiast Michael Houang, has a regular column on KNTR where he contributes both book reviews and recipes.

Currently, KNTR also provides a Partner Schools Program that pairs well-funded schools with under-funded schools to raise money for the under-funded school’s library while also encouraging kids from both schools to discuss favorite books via email. Additional programs include a Free Comic Book Day that provides kids with comics and Highlights magazines, and a future writing contest for children.

Ultimately, KNTR’s book donations and literacy programs have been received very well by teachers and librarians, who frequently send letters of appreciation to their website's testimonials page.

“We cannot really quantify how extremely helpful this shipment will be,” writes Katelyn Castleberry, executive director of The Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, after KNTR helped place more than 3000 books for the organization. “We also have a large number of neighborhood centers, shelters and organizations that we were able to drop off books to… We feel very fortunate to have been thought of by your organization, and have tried to begin spreading the generosity of the donation throughout the city.”

Learn more about how to receive book donations from Kids Need to Read – or how to provide a donation to this nonprofit yourself – by visiting the KNTR website.

The copyright of the article Kids Need to Read Donates Books for Libraries in Children’s Books is owned by Michael Jung. Permission to republish Kids Need to Read Donates Books for Libraries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.