Become a Book Angel with Chicklet Books
Deb Hunter, top banana at Chicklet Books located in Princeton, NJ has opened her big mouth and promised to deliver 1,000 new children’s books to Wise County, VA in July of 2010… FREE OF CHARGE… and needs your help.
This summer a high school friend of Deb’s, Ray Hodnett, was headed down to Tennessee to participate in Rural America (www.ramusa.org). RAM provides free medical, dental and optical care to our nation’s most desperate citizens of Appalachia. While there, he met Julie Winklestein who was handing free books to children and young adults. This extraordinary woman is in the process of earning her Doctoral degree at the University of Tennessee and purchases most of the books herself along with accepting donations when offered. She gave away 300 books this particular trip.
Fascinated by Ray’s story of Julie, Deb drove down to Tennessee to meet her face to face and see how she could help. The two hit it off immediately. Julie mentioned that her dream would be to go to the 2010 RAM event in Wise County, VA with 1,000 books. Deb pledged to make that dream come true.
So now the fun begins and the BOOK ANGEL PROJECT comes to life. Deb and Julie are forming a ‘not for profit foundation’. Their idea is to involve as many people and independent bookstores as possible to make this work. The ‘grand plan’ is to place artificial trees hung with paper angels in as many bookstores as possible. Each angel will have a book title written on it. The titles will be chosen by committee plus a few blanks for the stores to fill in. Bookstore customers can then pick an angel from the tree, purchase the book and leave it at the front desk for donation. In turn the customer will receive a Thank-you Donation letter to file with their yearly tax return. Deb will make arrangements to pick up the donated books and drive them down to VA in July.
This is a perfect win-win situation. Customers get to help young children, stores get a sale plus the knowledge they are spreading literacy to our young and the kids get a book to call their very own… and we all know how learning to read can change a young person’s life.
What can YOU do to help?? So glad you asked! There is so much that has to be done. First and foremost the foundation has to be formed. Deb and Julie are looking for creative board members and people with experience writing mission statements, by-laws and constitutions. Once established, they will need INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES to offer a corner of their store to house a tree and take in donations. Good penmanship and precise scissor skills are helpfulJ If you, your staff and/or store would like to get in on the ground floor of a wonderful and caring project, or need further information please call Chicklet Books at 609-279-2121 or send Deb an email to: topbanana@chickletbooks.com.
