New York Life and local non-profit Flower Mound Women in Business spearheaded the month-long initiative.
LEWISVILLE, TX (August 8, 2023) — 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, is excited to announce that it was recently presented with 2,600 books from a community book donation spearheaded by fellow non-profit Flower Mound Women in Business. Several New York Life agents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area also contributed a matching donation of $1,692.
The event was held in June and is the largest community book donation Book Drive for Kids has benefited from since its inception in 2017.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for this tremendous support from our local community,” said Michelle Cook, Book Drive for Kids’ Co-Founder and Executive Director. “This gift will bring so many smiles. Thank you to Flower Mound Women in Business and New York Life for making the magic happen — giving books to inspire creativity, laughter, and hope.”
Cook said the initiative wouldn’t have happened without the generosity and out-of-the-box thinking of Flower Mound Women in Business, a non-profit organization with over 4,000 members dedicated to inspiring and empowering women entrepreneurs to live their best lives and give back to the communities where they live and serve. Founder and President Christi Beca and Vice President Amanda Bennett challenged their membership to place book donation boxes at several prominent Denton County businesses. A few of those locations included 214 Dental, Clink Wine Bar & Bites, Cryo Clinic Wellness Center, and Awesome Times.
Local author Carrie Simpson donated a class set of her inspiring children’s book, O! I Swallowed a Seed! The Lewisville Police Department also heard about the initiative and made a significant book donation. Local New York Life agent Lois Kim, also a Flower Mound Women in Business member, enlisted several of her colleagues to match the book gifts with a combined monetary donation of $1,692.
“Flower Mound Women in Business is honored to support Book Drive for Kids, as they are a wonderful organization that supports our youth,” Bennett said. “Michelle Cook is a member of FMWIB and works hard to share her passion through BDK. We always want to support her and other women entrepreneurs in their mission to help as many as possible. We are beyond blessed to have the support within our community and our organization to truly make this happen. We are grateful to have been a part of BDK and are excited to see the impact on many children and families that have been a part of this organization.”
More About Book Drive for Kids
Cook said the latest haul in donations helps further the organization’s efforts statewide as the demand for more intervention continues to grow. 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. Book Drive for Kids’ goal is to create a culture of literacy by providing books to disadvantaged children for independent reading. There is no cost to the kids or their families, just an opportunity to read for pleasure and personal fulfillment.
Independent reading is not tested, chosen by the reader, and done for pleasure or personal fulfillment. And 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 has a significant effect on reading test scores.
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.
For more information, including ways to donate and volunteer, visit bookdriveforkids.com.
Please direct all media inquiries to:
Michelle Cook, Book Drive for Kids
[email protected]