Kindles for kids: "Any Book, Any Kid, Any Time" » inner city

Interested in joining the pilot program?

kindlesforkids — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:21:13 +0000

Are you interested in getting Kindles for your Kids?

We are currently accepting applications from organizations and schools that work with at-risk and low income youths, in grade levels 6 to 12. Some obvious ones jump quickly to mind: Inner city school districts with a high percentage of Title I students, organizations that target at-risk and underserved populations, such as Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, KIPP Academy, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the Harlem Children’s Zone Project, to name just a few. Organizations such as these have the infrastructure and programs in place that would be needed to administer the distribution and monitoring of the Kindle units. Suggestions for willing and committed organizations are welcome.

Welcome to Connect2books.org!

kindlesforkids — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:45:33 +0000

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free” – Frederick Douglass

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” – Victor Hugo

“A man is known by the books he reads.” - Ralph Waldo Emmerson

“There is more treasure in books than all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney

Did You know….

In low income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is approximately 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
The number of books in a home is a significant predictor of academic achievement.
Reading comprehension skills are eroding.
Little more than one third of U.S. high schools seniors now read proficiently.

Connect2books.org is a non-profit organization that aims to combat declining U.S. literacy skills by distributing e-book readers (such as the Kindle from Amazon) to low income families. Read on to learn more…

Step 1A: Identifying those in greatest need

kindlesforkids — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:44:24 +0000

Step One in the pilot program is to identify a handful of communities around the country that have experienced some hardship or extraordinary circumstances that have left their schools without access to books and other educational resources – fires, floods, storms or other Katrina-like disasters come to mind. Perhaps the town’s or the high school’s library burned down. In any case, this type of situation would be one in which a few dozen Kindles could have a significant impact, both in the short and the longer term. Or maybe a rural area which lost its library due to state budget cuts, and has to make do with a mobile library that stops once a month. If anyone can suggest any situations similar to these, please get in touch with me. Thanks.

Step 1: Who gets them?

kindlesforkids — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:12:14 +0000

The first step in getting this concept off the ground is to identify some organizations that would be willing to partner with Connect2books on the “demand side”. Some obvious ones jump quickly to mind: Inner city school districts with a high percentage of Title I students, organizations that target at-risk and underserved populations, such as Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, KIPP Academy, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the Harlem Children’s Zone Project, to name just a few. Organizations such as these have the infrastructure and programs in place that would be needed to administer the distribution and monitoring of the Kindle units. Suggestions for willing and committed organizations are welcome.

Working with the supply side side (Amazon and the publishing industry) may prove to be the bigger challenge, but that will be the subject for another post…