It’s a FACT that 61% of low income families have no books for children in their home, and more than 80% of preschool and after school programs for at-risk kids have no reading materials at all. I know there are many families in my community who fit this demographic and was excited to rally my neighbors for the Champions For Kids SIMPLE Service Project: The Nickelodeon Big Help Book Drive. Children need to develop a love for books and reading at a young age so they can live happier lives. There is an excellent Head Start program in our town that I hoped would benefit from my neighborhood book drive.
My children and I got things started by shopping at Walmart for Nickelodeon character books. We were lucky to find several Dora the Explorer books, every child knows and loves Dora! There are a lot of children from Spanish-speaking homes in our local Head Start program, so I think they will enjoy reading Dora books. My kids pick up Spanish words just from watching Dora’s show on Nickelodeon.
Our next step was to create a simple flyer to distribute throughout our neighborhood. I put a short sentence or two explaining the Nickelodeon Big Help Book Drive SIMPLE Service Project and asked for people to donate new and/or gently used children’s books by putting them on their front porch the next Saturday morning by 10am. Then, they could hang the bright yellow flyer on their doorknob to let us know to stop by and pick up their donation. The kids and I hung flyers on about 20-30 houses in our surrounding area. I thought doing the book drive this way could be an effective way to get book donations…turns out, it was not.
I have to admit it was very disappointing to walk around our neighborhood and realize that not one house had left a book donation for us to pick up. I really felt like I failed in my task. The silver lining on this cloud is that I know every house saw our flyer and if they read it, they are now familiar with the Champions For Kids program by name at the very least. I had also included the #Champions4Kids website address on the flyer and hope some of our neighbors will check it out!
Our donation to the Head Start was small – we were only able to collect and purchase about ten books. But, I am sure those books will be put to good use and hope our local preschool children enjoy the Nickelodeon character book (Dora the Explorer). And now I know a great place to give my gently used children’s books once we have outgrown them.
YOU can become one of millions, too!
Learn more about Champions For Kids SIMPLE Service Projects. Host a Nickelodeon Big Help Book Drive with your own friends and family. I know there are children in your community who could benefit from your efforts. Help Champions For Kids reach their goal of helping 20 MILLION children by 2020.
“Like” Champions For Kids on Facebook
@Champions4Kids on Twitter
“Like” Nickelodeon on Facebook
@NickelodeonTV on Twitter
See photos from our entire #NickCFK Dora the Gymnast Walmart shopping trip in my Google Plus photo album.
Christy says
You can’t control what others do but you can control your own actions. Your actions, and the lessons you taught your boys, are invaluable on so many levels. Your idea for a book drive was phenomenal. You were making it easy for everyone by doing all of the work. I’m so sorry that they didn’t contribute but that in itself is a valuable lesson for your boys. Things don’t always go as planned, but you never give up, and you always follow through. I’m certain that those 10 books will make a HUGE difference in the lives of 10 children in need. You do make a difference and you pretty much rock!
Nicole says
Awwww…Thanks, Christy! That really means a lot. I was really discouraged after the what I feel like “total fail” effort. It makes me feel a little better to hear you say these things, because I know what you are saying is true about not being able to control other people’s actions (or inaction in this case)- it’s just easier to believe when I hear someone like you say it! If you know what I mean. 🙂 The boys had fun and knew we were trying to help other kids, I had a good time planning things and the experience will help me out in the future to maybe know what to do better and/or differently. Thank you for being so supportive.
Christy says
I felt you on this one! We had a VERY similar experience on the Odwalla CFK mission. I was heartbroken until I realized that my then 5 year old daughter found her heart during that mission. She was otherwise selfish and self-serving as many 5 year olds are. But my perceived failure opened a new door for her and her positive attitude gave me a feeling of warmth that is unmatched. All things happen for a reason even if you don’t understand the reason at that particular moment.