The nonprofit BookSmiles will give away up to 2,500 books this fall to five teachers across New Jersey, the Philadelphia region and Delaware for the first time through a new program.
The New Teacher Classroom Library Initiative is funded through a private donation of $20,000 and is only available to teachers who’ve taught for fewer than five years at a Title I school that provides free and reduced lunches to at least 75% of its students.
Applications for the program are due by Friday, July 24, and five winning teachers will be invited to a reception in September to meet each other and the private donor. Applicants will be graded by a panel of judges.
There are eight Title I schools in the township: Clara Barton, J.F. Cooper, Joyce Kilmer, James Johnson, Thomas Paine and Kingston elementary schools, John A. Carusi Middle School and Cherry Hill West. Among them, Carusi has the highest percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunches, at 38%.
The donated books will be delivered by BookSmiles to each winner’s school, and the organization will help those teachers determine the age ranges of books – from infant to high school – and the best titles for their students.
Emily Loughlin, director of development for BookSmiles, said while the New Teacher Classroom Library Initiative’s donor wants to remain anonymous, supporting teaching is the goal.
“The donor really wanted to put the funding towards supporting new teachers, whether they are just entering the profession or they’ve been in the profession for less than five years,” she noted.
BookSmiles was founded in 2017 by Cherry Hill native Larry Abrams to provide books to kids who would otherwise not have access, in areas known as “book deserts.” Its first book bank opened in the township in 2019, and while BookSmiles now operates out of a 4,300-square-foot facility in Pennsauken, it will relocate to a 14,000-square-foot location in the township this fall, according to Loughlin.
BookSmiles donated 11,379 books to teachers in township schools last year, including Brookfield School, Woodcrest Elementary, Kingston Elementary, Johnson School, Carusi Middle, Creative Arts Academy, Clara Barton Elementary, the Mahlberg Preschool, Discovery Corner Day Care, West High, Sunny Days Children’s Academy, township foster care programs and the BookMates program.
Like BookSmiles, according to Loughlin, the New Teacher Classroom Library Initiative will benefit kids who wouldn’t otherwise get books.
“So we’re really hoping to keep this open to schools and districts where students do not have access to books or the school does not have access to books,” she explained.
BookSmiles also runs a teacher-take program, where teachers make a $35 donation to acquire books; a delivery program to day cares; and a book fair that offers free scholastic books at schools. Last year, BookSmiles distributed more than 300,000 titles to about 900 teachers through teacher-take.
The New Teacher Classroom Library Initiative is an attempt to “irrigate book deserts,” according to Loughlin.
“Obviously this program is going to do that by being able to provide 2,500 books to a teacher in a high-need school to be able to fill their classroom, share them with their students, share them with other teachers in the community,” she elaborated.
“That is really exciting. We’re hoping this program gains traction and that we can find more donors that are interested in being able to facilitate programs like this.”
BookSmiles is conducting a study partially funded by a $40,000 grant from Rutgers-Camden to determine how its work benefits students. It is being conducted by the Walter Rand Institute within the university and will survey day-care students who’ve benefitted from the nonprofit.
Results are expected by the fall of next year.
