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Nov 07
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Inaugural Senior Spelling Bee

By General

Inaugural Senior Spelling Bee

Designed as an intergenerational event, Discovery Village of Lewisville, a beautiful independent living space, offered to host the event on October 5, 2024. A fabulous lineup of 10 “seniors” (i.e. over 50 years) signed up and recruited a couple of junior sidekicks (children aged 6-16) to help out. The judges laid down the law, prepping our spellers for the spelling showdown ahead. 

When the doors swung open, fans and spectators poured in, buzzing with excitement!

As the spellers took their places, you could practically feel the electricity in the air. One by one, they tackled their words, with some gracefully advancing and others taking a little sidestep into the spectator zone. Our emcee, Michelle Cook, kept the vibes flowing, giving contestants a breather between rounds and pulling lucky raffle winners. Huge thanks to our awesome sponsors for the wonderful baskets and a lucky winner took home 4 coveted seats to catch the Dallas Stars in action!

The grand finale saw Discovery Village resident, Ann Slavik, and the incredible Debbie Goforth of Point Bank battling it out, spelling their way through a storm of tricky words. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, blown away by their spelling prowess. In the end, Debbie emerged as the last speller standing, claiming the title of Champion of Book Drive for Kids’ very first Senior Spelling Bee!

A big virtual high-five to all the volunteers and judges who made this event a smashing success! You rock, and we couldn’t pull off these amazing events without your superhero support!

Nov 07
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Member Highlight – Kathy Parker

By General

Board Member Spotlight — Kathy Parker

Kathy Parker hesitates to take an ounce of credit for the success of Book Drive for Kids. Even as a devoted founding board member, she insists her role has been minor at best and that all the kudos should go to Michelle Cook and Nicol Klingenstein for working tirelessly to create their nonprofit from scratch and doing all they can to get books into the hearts and hands of kids everywhere.

That said, one thing she can’t downplay is the distinction of being the first person they pitched the idea to in the first place. 

As the story goes, Michelle and Nicol already looked up to Kathy as an amazingly selfless and Godly friend and mentor. It also didn’t hurt that she had an extensive background in hospitality, business ownership, leadership, and countless nonprofit work. That background includes owning several Trail Dust Steakhouses with her family, being a board member of the Dallas Opera and Dallas Theater, and being the President of the Dallas Theater Guild. Needless to say, she was precisely the person they needed to bring their fledgling idea to life in 2017. 

“It was a wonderful idea,” Kathy said. “I remember sitting down with them at the kitchen table and working through everything necessary to get started. I pulled out my notebooks from places I had been involved with and worked through what a structure for something like this might look like moving forward—how to set up a board, reporting mechanisms, etc. We started dreaming up a vision of where we wanted to go, and kudos to them for following through.” 

Kathy is still every bit the sounding board and volunteer Book Drive for Kids has needed as it continues to grow. More importantly, she has been instrumental in helping Michelle, Nicol, and so many others achieve personal growth and strive to be good stewards as they search for more ways to give back to the communities they serve.

“While you may not know the lives you touch, you hope that what you’re doing will positively affect future generations,” she said. “I love what Book Drive for Kids does, and I’ll continue to help for as long as they’ll have me.” 

Kathy considers herself a retiree but has no trouble keeping herself busy. She has organized and taught a women’s Bible study group in her home every Monday for the past 15 years and is an active member of Denton Bible Church. She is also involved with several other nonprofits, including Refuge for Women, and still finds time to play tennis three times a week. She also loves cooking and shopping. 

She and her husband, Nathanial, live in Argyle and are about to celebrate their 30th anniversary—possibly with a trip to Spain. They have a blended family with six kids (one of which is in heaven) and 12 grandchildren between three months and 25 years old. Interestingly, one of her step-children is Tan Parker, Senator for Texas Senate District 12. 

With help from volunteers like Kathy, Book Drive for Kids is able to give away thousands of books annually.  Join our volunteer fun and help us get more books to more kids!

Nov 07
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Michelle’s Musings – Ms Frizzle Rides Again

By General

Ms. Frizzle Rides Again!

Remember Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus?

Her adventurous spirit and love of science takes even the most reluctant students on fascinating journeys in her Magic School Bus. They can shrink to the size of a germ inside the human body; travel to the ocean floor, dive inside a volcano or race through outer space; and even zoom back in time to walk alongside dinosaurs. 

I always wanted to be Ms. Frizzle.

When I noticed we had a book fair on October 31st, Halloween Day, I decided now was the time!

It wasn’t until the third graders arrived that it really “clicked” with the kids. When I told them I was Ms. Frizzle, their eyes got big, they started whispering to each other and huge smiles spread across their faces. Of course, this just inspired me to step more fully into the role, encouraging them to choose “my favorite books” (i.e. non-fiction books about science). Of course, they found my books and on their way out showed me the ones they had selected.

I had so much fun which continued even as I awoke the following morning with a smile remembering some of the short conversations “Ms. Frizzle” shared with these students. It  reminded me of my “Why” for dedicating time and effort to bring books to children who otherwise, most likely, will not experience this joy of meeting so many fun, quirky characters in literature.

These precious students had never met me nor had I met them. We live more than 30 miles apart, do not shop at the same grocery store or attend the same church BUT we both know Ms. Frizzle. She became a bridge between us over which we could share delight, questions, and knowledge. This is the power of books.  Complete strangers can form a bond over any shared interest but the experiences of books or stories link us as humans.

Who do you want to connect with?  A co-worker, sibling, child, neighbor?

Maybe sharing a book will help bridge that gap.

Try it and then let me know how it works.

 My heart overflows with gratitude for you – the donors, volunteers, supporters – who give so generously!  Thanks to you on NTX Giving Day, we met our match and more than doubled giving over last year. You are record-breakers with us as each year, the number of children who select books grows! 

Your generosity brought Ms. Frizzle to over 500 students last week! She was able to share her love of learning and the wonder of our beautiful world. When she can’t be there, I have the privilege of going in her stead, which is truly a dream come true. 

 

With gratitude,

Michelle 

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