This is the last installment of my bookish charity series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. If you donated to any of them, I’d love to hear from you.
Project Night Night
Project Night Night donates over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year to homeless children 12 and under who need our childhood essentials to have a concrete and predictable source of security and an increased exposure to high-quality literacy materials during their time of upheaval. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children’s book, and a stuffed animal — all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. By providing objects of reliable comfort, Project Night Night reduces trauma and advances the emotional and cognitive well-being of the children we serve.
Every child who receives one of our Night Night Packages leaves the shelter owning a book which encourages reading and family bonding, a security blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend. We have one objective – to deliver our Night Night Packages to every homeless child in the country who needs one.
How you can help:
You can Adopt a Night Night Package, where you buy a tote for $3.50 and then fill each with a new blanket, a new book, and a new stuffed animal. Find a shelter on their list and drop off the Night Night packages. You can also donate new items in some states, as well as a monetary donation.
The Book Foundation
The Book Foundation was launched in 2014 by former Hollywood producer and social entrepreneur, Ruth Stalford. The initial idea was simple: get new books into the hands of children in underserved areas. The research was clear, children growing up in homes with no books are “on average” three years behind children in homes with lots of books. And in low-income areas, the ratio of books to children is 1 to 300.
The work of the Book Foundation was simple, direct and immediate. Ruth’s passion was contagious, and like-minded organizations quickly wanted to partner with The Book Foundation. One of Ruth’s pet peeves in the non-profit world has always been duplication of effort. So her goal early on became to partner with organizations who were best of breed, and where The Book Foundation could provide incremental impact and thus enhance each other’s programs.
How you can help:
You can volunteer to work at an event, setting up Book Nooks and Story Corners. In addition, to cash donations, they also take in-kind donations, which is essentially an Amazon wishlist. What could be easier than that?