My Own Book Fund

Research has shown, time and again, that students who are reading at least at grade level when exiting third grade will have more opportunity to be productive and to contribute to society, as a whole. To this end, the mission of My Own Book Fund (mobf), simply put, is to enhance child literacy in disadvantaged communities by empowering third-grade children enrolled in title i new york city public schools to select, purchase, and read their very Own books. While one must recognize that the success and reputation of mobf greatly belongs to its founder, burt freeman, and his family, one must acknowledge that the acceptance and achievement of the program sit squarely on the shoulders of the over 40 volunteers who, during this 2022-2023 fiscal year, carried the program into 38 title i schools in new york city to meet with administrators and teachers, prior to entering approximately 100 classrooms - explaining to some of the 2000+ students that we are all going on a class trip to a Book store (barnes & noble has been our first choice for years), or to others that there's going to a Book fair on the school premises just for them (thank you, scholastic!). The volunteers return to the classrooms about a month later, to have a final visit with the third-graders, to discuss the books they have read since the trip or Book fair, and to wish them well.if you're interested in our program - to volunteer or financially support our efforts - please feel free to reach out to our president, vincent brancato, at (203) 586-8171 or our executive vice president joanna miller at ((917) 733-9622.