Category Archive: Impact Stories

Community Spotlight: Empowering Students Through Books and History

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight, Impact Stories

In Valdosta, Georgia, where 100% of schools qualify for Title I funding, educators are finding creative ways to inspire students. Ra’Shuna, a dedicated 5th grade teacher and First Book member, is bringing engaging books into her classroom, starting discussions, and fostering a love for reading. Challenges in the Community With... Read more

Graphic with two images. The image on the left features two young girls in a classroom and pouring coffee. The image on the right features a older student who is reading a book in the library. Underneath the images is a banner that says, "Time for Change Youth Challenge".

Announcing the 2024 Time for Change Youth Challenge Winners

Posted in: Impact Stories, Our Partners

We’re thrilled to introduce the 17 incredible youth challenge winners from this year’s Time for Change Youth Challenge, a national initiative from First Book and Ashoka that empowers K–12 students to become changemakers in their schools and communities. Across the country, young people stepped up with big ideas—and even bigger... Read more

photo of a group of people standing by a book vending machine at a hospital.

Community Spotlight: Grandma’s Love Brings Books and Food to NYC Kids

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight, For Educators, Impact Stories

At First Book, we’re proud to shine a light on those making a difference in their communities through reading and education. One of these champions is Theresa, founder of Grandma’s Love, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting childhood hunger and promoting a love for reading in New York City. Addressing Hunger... Read more

image of a converted school bus that now holds rows of books on each side. There is colorful decorations and the image is from the back of the bus, facing forward.

From Bus to Bookshelf: How the Free Book Bus and Johnson Elementary Nurture Young Readers

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight, For Educators, Impact Stories

At First Book, we believe in the transformative power of stories, and are inspired by those who bring books to the hands of children who need them most. Two such inspiring examples are Sharon, the visionary behind The Free Book Bus, and the dedicated educators at Johnson Elementary. The Free... Read more

image of four girls standing next to a pop up sign about SIREN, a patent-pending gunshot detector and communicator designed to provide real-time alerts to students, faculty, parents, and law enforcement, cutting down the time it takes to alert law enforcement from 5 minutes to 5 seconds and vastly improving the accuracy of that communication.

Celebrating Young Changemakers: Meet the Winners of the Time for Change Youth Challenge!

Posted in: Impact Stories, Our Partners

First Book, alongside our friends at Ashoka, are excited to announce the winners of the Time for Change Youth Challenge! These young innovators from all corners of the U.S. are being awarded $1,000 grants to bring their inspiring ideas to life and make a positive impact in their schools and... Read more

volunteer reading to boy - night of the ninjas

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Magic Tree House Collection

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories, Our Partners

This year is the 30th anniversary of Mary Pope Osborne’s beloved Magic Tree House series. The incredibly popular series, published by Penguin Random House, has sold over 143 million books worldwide and includes over one hundred titles. Those titles include the Merlin Missions subseries for advanced readers and the Magic... Read more

550,000 Member, close-up of Tamika in classroom

Meet First Book’s 550,000th member: NYC educator Tamika

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight, Focus on First Book, For Educators, Impact Stories

This summer, Tamika made First Book history by becoming the 550,000th educator to join the First Book Network. A teacher at a middle school in the New York public school system, Tamika attended a Reading Opens the World book give-away held in the Bronx by the United Federation of Teachers,... Read more

box of legos spilling out on to the floor

Build the Change: The LEGO Group’s Network Impact

Posted in: Impact Stories, Our Partners

In 2021, the LEGO Group, a partner of First Book, worked to take a new approach to provide resources to our growing network of educators. Instead of creating resources based on corporate goals or assumptions, the LEGO Group worked with First Book to conduct research and create materials that were... Read more

teacher working with two female students

First Book’s Honor Roll

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight

My mother was a high-school biology teacher for 32 years, every week was Teacher Appreciation Week in our house. To say I understood her impact on a child’s life is an understatement, but I hear of her impact often. “Oh, you’re Ms. Awad’s daughter? She was the best teacher I... Read more

two teenage kids reading next to each other in a field

Books for Baltimore: Impacting the Achievement Gap

Posted in: Impact Stories

The following is a guest blog post written by educators Loretta Holmberg and Ann Mengel, VIPTeach Global Online Teaching Fellows, First Book network educators, and leaders of the Books for Baltimore project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of children have not been in physical classrooms with access to... Read more