Category

Spelling Bee

Mar 26
Love0

4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee

By General, Spelling Bee

4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee was a Buzzzing Success!

Book Drive for Kids Raises Over $48,000
at 4th Annual Adult Spelling Bee

Proceeds further the non-profit’s mission to create a culture of literacy and independent reading among disadvantaged children.

LEWISVILLE, TX (March 13, 2026) — Book Drive for Kids announced today that it raised $48,000 from its 4th annual Adult Spelling Bee on March 6. The wildly popular Denton County-based non-profit, which partners with community organizations and Title I schools to get books into the hearts and homes of needy children, has now raised a combined $133,572 net proceeds from its signature event since 2023. This year’s bee was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lewisville and attracted 181 attendees, including 12 sponsored teams of three that battled for the spelling bee championship and honors such as Most Fans and Best Costume.

“We are forever grateful for the support our little non-profit gets from the people and organizations in this community,” Cook said. “The spelling bee was a quirky idea that not only resonated with people but also got their competitive juices flowing. After all, who wouldn’t want to win a spelling bee? It’s such a fun way to bring people together for a great cause.”

She added, “What started as a small concept has continued to grow every year. We would be nothing without our event planning committee, selfless volunteers, and everyone who came out for what proved to be yet another fun-filled evening. Let’s do it again next year.”  

As for the top spellers and award-getters from this year’s Adult Spelling Bee, there were plenty. The Bee Team (Zach Bennett, Jacquelyn Bennett, and Jessica Ortiz with Spanish with a Gringo) won the event in their first-ever performance after narrowly edging That 70’s Team (Jen Adame, Darrell Patillo, and Debbie Goforth, members of the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce) in the finals.  The We Got Booked team (Lynn Von Villas, Dori Bonitatibus, and Stephanie Gardner of the Flower Mound Women’s Business Book Club) walked away with both the Best Costume and Most Fans awards. 

The Spellers are not the only ones playing games. With tremendous support from community businesses, all attendees could try to win 8 different gift baskets in the “Heads & Tails” game and lots more gift certificates and wine were won in the “Honey Pot” game and the Wine Pull. The generous support of local businesses is overwhelming.

You can be part of the fun TODAY.

Book Drive for Kids Online Auction

More gift baskets, jewelry and experiences can be had in the Online Auction that expires Sunday, March 29 at 8pm. With these proceeds, Book Drive for Kids hopes to meet our Spring goal of $50,000 to fully fund our Summer Reading programs.

Apr 14
Love0

3rd Annual Adult Spelling Bee

By General, Spelling Bee

Book Drive for Kids Raises Over $41,000
at 3rd Annual Adult Spelling Bee

Proceeds further the non-profit’s mission to create a culture of literacy and independent reading among disadvantaged children.

LEWISVILLE, TX (March 26, 2025) — Book Drive for Kids, a Denton County-based non-profit that partners with community organizations and Title I schools to get books into the hearts and homes of needy children, announced this week that it raised $41,236 from its 3rd annual Adult Spelling Bee on March 21 at Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound. That’s a roughly 20% increase from last year’s event total and a whopping $27,336 increase from the inaugural event in 2023. This year’s event also attracted 175 attendees—including nine sponsored teams of three that battled for the spelling bee championship and other top honors.

Book Drive for Kids Co-Founder and Executive Director Michelle Cook said the money raised included $2,570 from the Most Fans award fundraiser. Attendees were asked to vote for their favorite teams, with every dollar equaling one vote. Those proceeds will be used to create summer reading kits for 257 kindergarteners. The rest will further fund BDK’s growing list of free book fairs, donation drives, and more.

“What started as a small concept has continued to grow every year thanks to the generous support of countless individuals, small-business owners, large corporations, educational partners, local groups, school districts, area chambers of commerce, and other community-minded people and organizations,” Cook said. “We are incredibly grateful to our event planning committee, selfless volunteers, and everyone who came out to support our mission of getting books into the hearts and homes of kids who need them.”

Since 2017, Book Drive for Kids has donated over 200,000 books to more than 136,000 students at 253 events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and its reach extends to places like Austin, Houston, and South Texas.

“As always, we are still seeking volunteers and corporate sponsors for free book fairs and hosts for book donation drives,” Cook added. “And, of course, we’re already starting to plan for next year’s spelling bee.”

As for the top spellers and award-getters from this year’s Adult Spelling Bee, there were plenty. Beauties and the Beast (Steve Gamel, Lois Kim, and Kristen Gramling) won the event after narrowly edging Three’s Company (Jen Adame, Darrell Patillo, and Tiffanie Harris) in the finals. Buzzed on Words (Dori Bonitatibus, Stephanie Gardner, and Cindy Williams) was a double winner for Most Fans and Best Costume.

Individual team sponsors were BbK Services 556, PointBank, Mantiki Solutions, ResponsiveEd, Bright Thinker, Lewisville Morning Rotary Club, Independent Financial, Stewart Organization, and PuroClean.

“This is honestly my favorite event of the year—and there are a lot of events throughout the year—because you get to just come as you are and raise money for a great cause,” Lois Kim said. “The casual atmosphere combined with heckling and an opportunity to spell competitively as adults is genius. I’ve volunteered at a book fair where these kids go through the line and tell us they don’t have any money. To tell that child it’s free because of the money we raised at events like this is priceless.”

Steve Gamel agreed. He and Kim have competed in the spelling bee all three years.

“It was a blast to win something like this with Lois and Kristen—especially considering how fierce the competition was. But the real winners are the kids we were all there to support,” Gamel said. “Getting books into their hands is the greatest honor.”

Gramling rounded out the winning team’s thoughts by saying, “It was an honor to compete for Book Drive for Kids to increase awareness and resources for them to continue their work in providing books to those that may not have access. Owning books may seem customary, but for some, it’s a luxury and should be a reality for all kids and their families.”

More About Book Drive for Kids

Book Drive for Kids is a 501(c)(3) organization on a mission to help create a culture of literacy by providing books to disadvantaged children for independent reading. The organization began in 2017 thanks to Cook and fellow co-founder Nicol Klingenstein. With a few hundred used books, they offered a teacher friend the opportunity to host a free book fair at her school, where 90% of the kids were economically disadvantaged. The response went through the roof, leading to even more events in the years to come.

These book fairs do not cost the kids or their families anything—they are just an opportunity to read for pleasure and personal fulfillment. Furthermore, the kids truly feel like these are gifts to them—they don’t see these books as belonging to their school. It’s for them, and they realize there are people they don’t know who genuinely care enough about them and want them to have books available.

Independent reading is not tested, chosen by the reader, and done for pleasure or personal fulfillment. Studies suggest that independent readers become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have greater content knowledge than those who do not. Independent reading may be conducted at school during a silent sustained reading (SSR) period, at home, in the car, or between classes, and even as little as 10 minutes of reading a day significantly affects reading test scores.

For more information, including ways to donate, volunteer, or participate in next year’s adult spelling bee, visit bookdriveforkids.com.

Please direct all media inquiries to:
Michelle Cook, Book Drive for Kids
[email protected]

Apr 26
Love0

2nd Annual Adult Spelling Bee

By Fundraising, Spelling Bee

Local Nonprofit Book Drive for Kids Raises $35,000 From 2nd Annual Adult Spelling Bee

By Steve Gamel

Book Drive for Kids’ signature Adult Spelling Bee event is here to stay. If last year’s inaugural event wasn’t convincing enough for you, this year’s follow-up on April 5 surely sealed the deal after raising a staggering $35,000 – an increase of nearly 152% from last year’s total – to support future book fairs and other initiatives aimed at furthering the nonprofit’s mission of getting books into the hearts and homes of needy children.

This year’s event was held at Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound to account for more teams and a lighthearted audience of 200 people. Mayor Derek France was the emcee, and eight teams battled it out for the top prize. Independent Financial was recognized with the Circle of Commitment award because of their on-going support since the first Denton county free book fairs in 2018.

“We are overwhelmed and grateful for the tremendous support from our hometown supporters – not only for the monetary gifts but for the enthusiasm and encouragement we have received to keep working to get good books into the hearts and homes of the next generation,” Book Drive for Kids executive director Michelle Cook said. “With the continual population growth in Denton County, the need to support low-income families and the educators who serve them is on the rise. We definitely need volunteers.”

Book Drive for Kids has donated over 175,000 books to nearly 100,000 students at roughly 100 events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Thanks to active volunteers and support, donations, grants from countless individuals and entities, and the annual spelling bee, their reach extends to places like Austin, Houston, and South Texas.

Who Won the Adult Spelling Bee?

This year’s event pitted eight sponsored teams of three against each other for the championship and other top honors. There were two flights, with the winning team from each flight squaring off in the title round later that evening, and three judges (Glenda Simons, Ross Powell, and Savanna Powell) to ensure every word was pronounced and spelled correctly. 

When the dust settled, The Word Smiffs (Jonathan Munoz, Chelsea Mooneyhan, and Marco Rodriguez, Sr.) pulled out the victory – avenging a tough first-round exit in last year’s event.

Team sponsors included Puro Clean of Flower Mound, BbK Services 556, the Cross Timbers Rotary (two teams), ResponsiveEd (two teams), Independent Financial, and Mantiki Solutions. In addition to sponsoring spelling bee teams, the Cross Timbers Rotary helped process book donations after the event.

“The Adult Spelling Bee is just good, family-friendly fun to support a good cause,” Marco Rodriguez, Sr. said. “This is a fun time all around for friends, family, and competitors. We enjoyed watching the other teams play and act the part of their team name and costumes, and it was a sweet redemption for us. … We would have had fun whether we won or not, but winning is a lot of fun. We will be competing again next year.”

He added, “Come out and cheer on a team, spell, and support Book Drive for Kids.”

Look Out for Information on Next Year’s Bee!

If you didn’t get a chance to attend this year’s Adult Spelling Bee, the good news is that there is always next year. As usual, the stakes next year will be higher, the laughs will be side-splitting, and the opportunity to get more books into kids’ hands in Denton County and beyond will be plentiful. 

Visit bookdriveforkids.com for more information, including ways to donate, volunteer, or participate in next year’s adult spelling bee. 

Photo Gallery

  • Adult Spelling Bee Champions with Emcee Flower Mound Mayor, Derek France

  • James Price of Independent Financial, Michelle Cook, and Derek France

 

Link to Cross Timbers Gazette article

Mar 15
Love0

This Is Why I Will Happily Compete in Book Drive for Kids’ Adult Spelling Bee Every Year

By Fundraising, Spelling Bee

This Is Why I Will Happily Compete in Book Drive for Kids’ Adult Spelling Bee Every Year

By Steve Gamel

I must admit I was a little apprehensive when Book Drive for Kids’ Co-Founder and Executive Director Michelle Cook asked me if I’d compete in their inaugural Adult Spelling Bee on March 4. Don’t get me wrong; I am all about stepping up for a local charity — especially if that charity’s mission is to get books into the hearts and homes of needy children. 

Not to mention, I’m a writer and editor by trade! Independent reading … writing … grammar … spelling … literacy … these are my JAM.

But competing in a spelling bee?! Standing in front of all those people — most of whom know what I do for a living? That’s pressure — even for an Uber-competitive person like me. I don’t think I’ve been in a spelling bee since the 3rd grade, but like most people I know in this community, it’s really hard to say “no” to Michelle. She and fellow BDK co-founder Nicol Klingenstein are the sweetest people. They’re in this for the right reasons, and as I learned about their history, mission, and plans for the future, saying “yes” was a no-brainer. 

Full disclosure: My team didn’t win. 

Also, full disclosure: I spelled all my words correctly!

But I’m here to tell you that I will absolutely do this again next year — and the year after that, and the year after that, and so on.

Why? Because it doesn’t matter who wins an adult spelling bee. Sure, it was fun getting up there and watching everyone (myself included) spell words like acquiesce, inexhaustible, amphibious, cinnamon, archaic, remembrance, etc., off the top of their heads. But the real winners from an event like that are the kids. The event hauled in $13,900, including a $3,500 grant from the Elk’s National Foundation. That’s huge, as the money raised will support future free book fairs and other initiatives. The organization has interacted with nearly 20,000 children at free book fairs this school year alone. Since 2017, they’ve donated over 150,000 books to nearly 66,000 students at nearly 100 events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and their reach extends to places like Austin, Houston, and South Texas.

I could tell immediately that all 120 people in attendance that night at Elk’s Lodge in Grapevine believed in what Book Drive for Kids was doing. And just like me, they’ll be back — and they’ll bring more friends, too.

So, Who Won the Adult Spelling Bee?

The adult spelling bee pitted six sponsored teams of three against each other for the championship and other top honors. There were two flights, with the winning team from each flight squaring off in the title round later that evening. 

When the dust settled, Spelling Bee Bee 556 (Lois Kim, Mike Kirkpatrick, and Jessie Nair) won the event after narrowly edging the Hip-Bees (Lanette Frost, Melissa Cheshier, and Ashley Williams) in the finals. Third place went to Highway to Spell (Steve Gamel, Crystal Foster, and Buddy Bonner), which won the “Most Fans” award. The Gatsby Grammarians (Sydney Stauffer, Brad Deitzen, and Äugenae Davenport) won the “Best Costume” award.

Team sponsors included BbK Services 556, Regions Bank, Mantiki Solutions, LLC, ResponsiveEd, Swag Angels, and Puro Clean.

Look Out for Information on Next Year’s Event!

If you didn’t get a chance to attend this year, the good news is that Book Drive for Kids is already working on a follow-up event for next year.  I even joked with Michelle at a meeting a few days later that she may need to find a bigger venue in the years to come — to which we both said, “That would be a great problem to have.” As usual, the stakes next year will be higher, the laughs will be side-splitting, and the opportunity to get more books into kids’ hands in Denton County and beyond will be plentiful.

Thanks for reading!

For more information, including ways to donate, volunteer, or participate in next year’s adult spelling bee, visit bookdriveforkids.com.