Read a book, get a book
Navajo kids hold key to library windfall
By Noel Lyn Smith
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, Dec. 5, 2011
An online campaign is hoping to donate 5,000 books to preschool and early elementary students on the Navajo Nation.
But to receive that gift, young Navajos have to show they are interested in reading.
This initiative, a collaboration between LitWorld and Unite for Literacy, is keeping a record of the number of kids reading books online and hopes to reach the goal of 5,000 books read by mid-January.
To help the campaign, log onto www.wegivebooks.org and click on the "Choose A Campaign" tab, which will direct you to a list of campaigns.
Then choose the "LitWorld" campaign to learn about the campaign and to select a book to read.
There is no limit to the number of books a person can read, according to the We Give Books Web site.
For each book read online, We Give Books will donate a book to that charity group.
All of the books available for online reading are children's picture books appropriate for children 10 or younger.
There is a mixture of fiction and nonfiction from a range of authors available in the digital library on the Web site. All are free to read.
Once the 5,000th book is read, the donation will proceed.
As of Tuesday (Nov. 29), there were 1,883 books read.
"The great thing about it is that all you have to do is read a book to donate a book," said Madison Graboyes, lead programming coordinator at LitWorld.
She said the campaign was started to cultivate the interest in reading among children on the Navajo Nation and to help with the development of reading skills.
LitWorld is a nonprofit organization based in New York City that promotes literacy worldwide and Unite for Literacy is located in Loveland, Colo. It also promotes literacy and provides software, training and education for literacy development.
Both organizations advocate the development of reading skills for children by promoting reading within the family and in the community.
Native Americans have the highest school dropout rate in the U.S. and Native children are twice as likely to live in poverty and in areas that do not have an accessible library in their communities, according to the We Give Books Web site.
Mike McGuffee, one of Unite for Literacy founders, and Pam Allyn, LitWorld executive director, will visit New Mexico next week to finalize the book distribution details, said Jessica Henley, Unite for Literacy marketing director.
We Give Books started in April through a partnership between the Pearson Foundation and the Penguin Group, a book publisher.
The Pearson Foundation covers the costs of sourcing and manufacturing the books and delivering them to the charity partners.
We Give Books supports nonprofit organizations that work to build libraries, fund schools, provide educations to low-income children and donate books to those in need.
"It's a great campaign that offers excess to high quality books," Graboyes said.
This is not the organizations first donation to the Navajo Nation.
In October, We Give Books, LitWorld, and Unite for Literacy helped distribute 2,000 copies of the children's book, "Llama Llama Red Pajama," and 2,000 copies of the Navajo language book, "Naaldooshi" to preschool students.
Out of that delivery 250 books were given to students enrolled in the Southwest Institute for Children and Families' "Pump Up the Volume in Preschool" and the rest were donated to Navajo Head Start.
Also during the last campaign, Unite for Literacy provided reading workshop materials and this time the group hopes provide information to families about improving the reading skills for children.