Calling all Youngstown Preschools

First Book- Mahoning Valley and PBS 45 & 49
are pleased to invite you to apply for a special book grant for organizations in Youngstown that serve preschool children.


We appreciate the work you do in teaching preschool children the beginning skills needed to become great readers. In an effort to increase literacy skills in Youngstown, PBS 45 & 49 was awarded a grant from the Marie Denise DeBartolo York Foundation.

This grant stipulates that new books be distributed to organizations that fulfill First Book grant guidelines,
which include:
*80% of the children your program
serves must be low income
*The books must become the property of the
children to create personal home libraries
*Your organization must not discriminate

If selected, you will be provided with 1 book per child in your organization for a six-month period. You will agree to allow First Book- Mahoning Valley volunteer(s) to distribute the books to the children each month. During the time allotted for the distribution, the volunteer will give a lesson to the children based on the PBS Ready To Learn Learning Triangle.

You must complete a grant application to be considered.
All applications
received on or before November 16, 2007
will be considered. No exceptions will be applied.

Grant application requests must be sent to amyneral@yahoo.com.

First Book- Mahoning Valley

Remember the magic of your first book? Mine was Benjie Engie- a little golden book about a slow locomotive who was given a faster engine so he could speed through the countryside. With the new engine he couldn't see the cows, the children playing, or the flowers anymore. Everything was a blurr. Going through life so quickly tired the engine and made him sick. The engineers brought him in and made him a slow locomotive again. He was happy and fulfilled enjoying the beauty around him.

My mom read me that story so much I had it completely memorized and could flip through the pages as though I were reading word for word by age 2. Are there children you know who have that same opportunity? What about the children who don't have their own books?

Everyone should have a memory of a first book. Our goal at First Book-Mahoning Valley is to create that memory by helping all children read and own their first new book.

Take the time to learn more about us. We meet the second Wednesday of every month at 7:00 m at Barnes & Noble in Youngstown, Ohio.
Except this November- we will have a different meeting date due to our current grant cycle.

Interested in learning more? Email me. Visit http://www.firstbook.org/.