Thank you, Bach Elementary!

Where do you get the best books for kids?  From kids!

Bach PawIn honor of March is Reading Month, Bach Elementary School ran a school-wide book drive for RX for Reading Detroit.  They set an ambitious goal: collect 1,000 books in one month, enough to create an RX for Reading Clinic Library and sustain it for one year.

Bach met that goal…and quadrupled it!  The kids, families, and teachers at Bach collected 4,033 books, enough to establish THREE RX for Reading Clinic Libraries.  With their hard work and generosity, RX for Reading was able to build libraries at the new Children’s Health Center in Midtown, the ACC Behavioral Health Clinic on Seven Mile, and the ACC Behavioral Health and Primary Care Clinic in Dearborn.

Special thanks to Elameno-Peace for their help Elameno-Corpsorganizing the book drive, the Bach Elementary 4th Grade Service Squad for their hard work collecting and sorting the books, and the Bach Elementary PTO for their support.  Elameno-Peace sponsored prizes for the three classrooms that collected the most books, and supporters of Bach and RX for Reading sponsored a $100 prize if Bach met its overall goal.  The RX for Reading Prize will be used to purchase books with characters from diverse backgrounds for the Bach Elementary Library.

This is what kids can accomplish when they work together to make a difference.  THANK YOU, BACH!

The 4th Grade Service Squad made the book drive a reality.

The 4th Grade Service Squad made the book drive a reality.  Here they are at the announcement of the book drive.

Members of the service squad collect books.

The Service Squad decorated and distributed collection bins and served as “ambassadors” to each classroom.  Each week, they collected and counted books and made announcements to the school about progress towards their goal.

RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison awards the RX for Reading Prize.  Ann Arbor musicians Gemini and storyteller Laura Raynor were on hand for the celebration.

RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison presents the RX for Reading Prize.  Ann Arbor musicians Gemini and storyteller Laura Raynor were on hand for the celebration.

Audrey and Ava represented the school at the March is Reading Month celebration.

The kids were excited about the prizes, but much more excited about working together for literacy and social justice.  Many of them picked out their very favorite books to contribute to the book drive and convinced siblings and friends to donate too.

Please contact us if you would like to make a donation to RX for Reading or are a school or community organization that would like to run an RX for Reading Book Drive!

Thank you, Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001!

The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn.  It is awarded to a troop that works together to make positive change in their community and world.

To earn their Bronze Award, the girls in Troop 40001 decided to work together to support literacy in their community.  We are so grateful for their donation of over 2,000 children’s books to RX for Reading Detroit!  It was a privilege to work together to sort their books and prep them for delivery to two RX for Reading Clinic Libraries in Southwest Detroit.  What an incredible group of young people!

Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001 with RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison

Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001 with RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison and some of the books they collected. 

RX for Reading Detroit can only do the work we do because of organizations like Girl Scout Troop 40001.  If you have books to donate or if you are part of a community organization that would like to run an RX for Reading Book Drive, please contact us.  We have had Book Drives organized by preschools, elementary and middle schools, churches, libraries, even a yoga studio!  Book Drives can be as big or little as you want, and RX for Reading provides all the materials you need.

Thank you to Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001 for your work on behalf of children’s literacy.  You helped make our community stronger!