Daughters of Wisdom Awards $5,000 Grant to The Book Fairies
The Daughters of Wisdom has awarded a $5,000 Wisdom Fund Grant to The Book Fairies, a non-profit organization that sources and distributes books to under-resourced communities on Long Island and in New York City. Based in Freeport, NY, this organization’s mission is to provide equitable opportunities for children to learn, grow and thrive.
“A book can really change a child’s life. It can change the trajectory of where they’re going, and really make a difference. If we can get children to be engaged and find a reading outlet that they love, there’s no limit to what they could do, and especially because they have the support of the teachers and the educators who come to us,” said Eileen Minogue, Executive Director of the Book Fairies.
The Book Fairies aims to increase children’s access to books and support their educational opportunities. By getting books into the hands of children who have no books at home, the organization strives to boost literacy and outcomes for children in low-income communities. This is achieved by distributing high-interest, age-appropriate books through book fairs and direct deliveries to schools and community organizations serving children who lack access to reading materials. This grant supports the organization’s Targeted School Communities program, which involves upcycling books and creating multi-year partnerships to respond more specifically to teachers’ expressed needs. Distribution methods include coordinating Free Book Fairs (where students self-select books to take home) and making customized deliveries to teachers, so that they can stock their classroom libraries and/or give books to individual students).
“Together, we serve more powerfully, and that’s what I love about the educators that we work with, because they come here on their day off. They go above and beyond, because they know that books are essential, and these kids need them,” Eileen added. “Any kid - baby to fourth grade - should have books in their hands. Tablets are great, but they’re not how they should be learning to read.”
By collecting and distributing books to children in need, this organization helps address the inequities that exist in access to books. Statistics show that in low-income areas, the ratio of books available in the home is 1 book per 300 children. This was exacerbated by the pandemic, which disrupted in-school instruction, and left many families to tackle at-home instruction with no books at home to read, due to economic obstacles. This project aligns with the Daughters of Wisdom mission to support children impacted by poverty and injustice by providing access to books, building literacy, and nurturing a love of reading.
Book Fairies Executive Director Eileen Minogue expressed her deep gratitude to the Daughters of Wisdom for this grant, adding, “There are many studies that say that just the mere presence of books in the child’s home, as they’re learning to read, could make the difference of two to three years of college or schooling that they wouldn’t have had. For many of the kids that don’t have books in their homes versus the kids that do, they start two years behind their peers in the higher-level neighborhoods."
In its ten years of existence, Book Fairies has grown to an organization that has distributed over 3.75 million books, supporting hundreds of Title I schools and nonprofits, providing over 180 volunteer opportunities a week for their outstanding special needs partners, and recycling over 12 tons of books a year. This is thanks to the thousands of volunteers, book donors, corporate sponsors and financial donors like the Daughters of Wisdom who have supported this organization’s mission. The organization has truly blossomed since its inception 10 years ago, when Founder, Amy Zaslansky, responded to a call for help from a teacher looking to fill her classroom with books.
This Daughters of Wisdom Grant to the Book Fairies is a first-year grant that was sponsored by Sr. Marie Josee Seide.
Book Fairies Executive Director Eileen Minogue holds up books that will go to children to help them learn to read and build literacy.
Stacks of books are shown at the Book Fairies warehouse in Freeport, NY, where they are sorted to be distributed to students in need of reading materials.