First Book Western New England College
Campus Advisory Board
About First Book:
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. In neighborhoods across the country, First Book Advisory Boards unite leaders from all sectors of the community to provide books to children in literacy programs, shelters for battered children, housing project initiatives, soup kitchens, after-school programs and other community-based efforts reaching children living at or below the poverty line. Since its inception in 1992, First Book has distributed more than 60 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide.
About First Book-Western New England College:
In 2004, the only First Book Campus Advisory Board in Western Massachusetts was implemented at Western New England College through the Office of Learning Beyond the Classroom. Our Board provides an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based programs such as the Springfield Day Nursery, Dunbar Community Center, Action Centered Tutoring, McKinney-Vento Homeless Program, Gray House, and the Springfield Girls' Club Family Center. Since its inception, the Board has awarded almost 7,000 books to organizations throughout the greater Springfield communities. On campus, students, faculty and staff have hosted a literacy event for children from the community to raise campus awareness about literacy issues and the First Book program. In addition, a number of fundraisers have been organized and implemented to generate funds and further educate the College about First Book.
What you can do to help:
There are countless programs within Springfield that could benefit from the help of First Book; unfortunately, we are unable to grant all requests as a result of limited resources. In an effort to raise campus awareness about the First Book program and literacy issues, students, faculty and staff hosted a number of events. However, the revenue generated has not been sufficient to grant many books, which is why the Board is running several different fundraisers.
Magical Night of Giving Fundraiser
Tickets are available until Friday, November 20th!
Sunday, November 22nd
Holyoke Mall
6:00 - 9:30pm
Just in time for holiday shopping!
Make a $5 dontation and receive a ticket which is good for:
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A night of discounted shopping at participating stores (see below)
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A raffle ticket to win a $1,000 Holyoke Mall Gift Card, among numerous other prizes donated by Holyoke Mall stores (see below)
Participating Stores' Discounts
Gift Card Fundraiser
Check it out, we've expanded our inventory!
OR
Make a direct donation to our Campus Advisory Board and take a look at our national First Book website below!
Questions??
Contact Kacey Agnew, the Program Assistant in the Office of Learning Beyond the Classroom, at 413-782-1687 or kagnew@wnec.edu.