FACILITATING LEARNING FOR YOUTH INC

Children and youth in low income areas often do not have access to books and educational materials at home. Our first goal is to provide free books to these children, so that they see books as something familiar and comforting - not just something that they see at school as work. We plan to work with Title I schools and 4c recipient preschools to give away books so that children have ownership of new books, and to provide storytime options - in person or virtual - for the books that are given away.

We also plan to construct Little Free Libraries to place in and around places where families congregate in low income areas, by partnering with local businesses such as grocery stores, fast food places, and laundromats to distribute well maintained used children's books, to both entertain and educate.

We are looking for people in many different areas - to set up a website, build bookshelves and Little Free Libraries, to donate space for an office and for book storage, to sort donated books and check for age and reading levels, to donate or ask for donations of books for youth ages 0-18, conduct storytime readings, deliver books, and to contact schools, preschools, and businesses to set up book distributions.

We think that this is so important, as studies show that simply having books in the home increase educational outcomes for children, and this gives them more job opportunities as adults. Education is the most effective way for individuals to rise from poverty, and this is the way to give them that chance.