Five Thousand Brand New Books to Kids From Military Families Courtesy of Pi Beta Phi

“I really loved being able to do something hands on for First Book.  Knowing that the backpack I put together at the convention gave each child five new books was extremely rewarding.”

– Pi Beta Phi Virginia Gamma Chapter President and senior at the College of William and Mary, Caroline Davis

First Book aims to help families from all walks of life and loves to do so hand in hand with partners. We recently teamed up with Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women at their 69^th biennial Convention in San Diego to assemble backpacks full of Disney titles, including the popular series, “Doc McStuffins”, to benefit the children of military families in Camp Pendelton.  Blue Star Families, a non-profit organization started by military families for military families, also partnered to make this gift possible.

Thousands of spirited Pi Beta Phi members, both college students and alumnae of all ages, gathered together to sort and pack 1,000 backpacks with 5,000 brand new books, bookplates, and bookmarks, as well as handwritten notes to the children receiving the backpacks.  Photos were snapped of smiling faces waving books and backpacks in the air and holding signs with messages such as ‘I gave a child their first book today’ to share on social media.  The finished product, an impressive sight of 1,000 backpacks, lined the stage at the closing session of the 2013 Convention and inspired pause.  It was a moment filled with a sense of pride at the completed effort and collective impact Pi Beta Phi had on the local community.

First Book’s continued partnership with Pi Beta Phi to support their Read > Lead > Achieve reading initiatives will continue to directly impact local communities across North America.  Stay tuned as we continue to partner together this spring with Pi Beta Phi sponsored book distributions, culminating around their Fraternity Day of Service in March.