July 2004

Jean Boddy used to have to raid her own family’s stash to give books to the kids and families she visits as a nurse with the Children’s Health Involving Parents (CHIP) program.  Now, thanks to the Youth Matters Book Bank, she doesn’t have to worry about replenishing her supply.

“When I first got books from the Book Bank, I ordered another supply right away because I was worried I wouldn’t get more,” says Boddy.  “Within three days I had them.  And they weren’t just random books, they were the particular types of books that I needed, for toddlers and preschoolers.”

The Youth Matters Book Bank has distributed an astounding 50,000 children’s books since its inception in 1999, according to Carol Obrochta, Acting Director for Youth Matters.  In April 2004, the Book Bank had its largest infusion of books ever.  CapitalOne employees donated 20,000 books and their contribution was matched by the Heart of America Foundation with another 20,000 books.

“The Book Bank is a collaboration; it’s the community’s Book Bank,” says Obrochta.  “Youth Matters provides management and oversight, the Richmond Public Library provides storage space; local businesses provide books and funding; service providers such as CHIP distribute books to families with children at risk of not reading at grade level; community service volunteers help sort books; and a courier company helps deliver them.”

Obrochta says the book bank is a valuable tool for the community.  “It brings attention to the issue of youth literacy, and it provides resources to our partners. The Book Bank is especially successful at acquiring baby board books and much needed bi-lingual books.  We know the books themselves won’t end youth illiteracy, but they are a vital component to helping children learn to read.”

Boddy agrees.  “The CHIP program has promoted literacy generally, but the book bank gives us the resources to do it better,” she says.  In addition, Boddy notes that the Book Bank also provides tips to parents on reading to young children, an act that may not be as natural as it may seem for parents with limited reading experience themselves.  “The Book Bank offers ‘modeling’ information for parents, which also provides a bonding experience for families when parents see that kids will crawl right up on their laps to be read to.”

For City Librarian Robert Rieffel, the Book Bank helps the library fulfill one of its fundamental missions.  “If there’s one thing a library should do, it’s to make sure children read and are literate, or they won’t be successful in life,” he says.  “And it needs to focus on the early years (ages zero to 5).  Libraries have had programmatic literacy interventions for all ages for so long, and this is a natural extension of that.”

Rieffel says one of the things that makes the Book Bank so unique is its comprehensive distribution system, which facilitates book drives around the region.  “It’s set up so that anyone who wants to do a book drive can simply do so without having to worry about the distribution,” he says.

Youth Matters provides an easy step-by-step book drive kit to anyone who wants to conduct a book drive. Once the books are donated, Youth Matters takes care of sorting and storing the books until they’re needed. Book Bank request forms are circulated through Youth Matters’ extensive network of service providers, and each request is filled within days of the order. The Book Bank has distributed books to over 150 different service providers.  “It’s a seamless process, from collection to delivery and reduces the duplication of services,” says Rieffel.

Rieffel likens the process to a food bank.  “People have food drives, and the food bank gets the food to people who need it,” he says.  “The Book Bank is the same sort of process, but books are food for the mind.”