Childrens Book Project

Since our founding in 1992, we have distributed almost 3.2 million books, with over half going to Title 1 schools. In 2023, the Childrens Book Project received and processed 160,000 books donated by businesses, publishers, authors, individuals (from curated wish lists at bookshop.org httpsbookshoporgshopchildrensbook... and amazon.com httpshttpswwwamazoncomhzwishlistl... and our mainstay book drives httpswwwchildrensbookprojectorgor... and distributed 144,633 free books to children and their families living in low-income neighborhoods, as well as to public schools, shelters and programs for unhoused children, public health clinics, child care and community organizations (including those with workforce development programs) in the greater Bay Area and beyond. While we primarily serve the Bay Area, we serve 34 counties in California; because there is no other organization that offers free, high-quality, unlimited books and literacy resources, some educators drive 2-3 hours from counties far from our San Francisco Book Bank; we do not turn anyone away seeking books for children who need them. With books placed with children individually and in group settings, CBP serves over 265,000 children annually. BOOK BANK PROGRAM (ages 0-18): Educators and any organization serving under-resourced children select books (free, unlimited, for keeps) from hundreds of thousands of books at our San Francisco Book Bank. In 2023, the majority of the 144,633 books we donated were part of the Book Bank program. READ ALOUD PROGRAM (ages 0-5): (1) trains community partners on coaching parents and guardians about early literacy development and the benefits of reading aloud during bimonthly workshops with expert literacy guest speakers, and (2) funds the purchase of thousands of free, new, multilingual books in a variety of diverse and difficult-to-source languages, including Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Russian, with a broad range of cultural and racial character representation. In 2023, we had 57 Read Aloud participants who, in turn, served thousands of parents and children (ages 0-5). TEEN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM: Empowers high school students ages 16 and older who love books and reading to spread that joy among their school community, provides work experience for teens under the guidance of a manager with decades of experience working with teens, and provides writing experience (teens write books reviews, which are placed in books at the Book Bank to guide clients) In 2023, 14 teens participated in this program. SECOND READING PROGRAM (Books to Book Deserts): We place thousands of titles (and shelving or book houses, if needed) each year in community book deserts throughout San Francisco to ensure children can access and choose their own for keeps books. In 2023, we made 77 deliveries to 15 book deserts. STORYTIME PROGRAM: Promotes childrens literacy and book ownership with free class field trips at our Book Bank. Childrens book authors, illustrators, or educators read, provide signed copies of their books, teach illustration while children draw with their sketch books and markers provided free by CBP. After listening and drawing, students select free books to keep from the Book Bankfor some, these may be the first books they own. Access to books is the biggest barrier to literacy development and better lifetime outcomes. Storytime is another way were bridging the equity gap and raising readers. In 2023, we held 4 field trips for public elementary school classes. CLIENT VOLUNTEER LIAISON PROGRAM: Some organizations serving children who need books cannot come to the Book Bank due to economic restraints. A volunteer liaises with the organizations staff regarding types of books needed for their children, and the volunteer then selects, delivers, and neatly arranges shelved books on an ongoing basis (shelving provided for free as well if needed). INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: College students gain work experience at the Book Bank for college credit; high school students volunteer their time to intern at the headquarters, gaining work experience across many areas including research, rendering architectural drawings for book drop bins (for donations) and book houses (for book deserts), and building bins and book houses, data analysis, writing, etc. VOLUNTEER PROGRAM: Our handful of part-time staff is aided by volunteers who help with the Book Bank program, and process and sort the 160,000 books donated to us annually into 78 categories (by age, topic, level, etc.), as well as with all our other programs. In 2023, volunteers dedicated 1,000 hours of time.