I’m so excited for today’s guest post from Julia Travers, because this organization is a great one! Read below to see how you can get involved with a great community program!
For some students, a break from school means a break from books. For elementary students, book access is crucial to literacy development. Books on Bikes is a program in which teachers and librarians from Charlottesville City Schools load books into bike baskets and deliver them to local neighborhoods. You can see videos of their work on their site, volunteer, start your own chapter, make donations, and also buy books for them that they’ve requested on this Amazon page. As well as being important, being read to and reading stories is fun and a big part of a kid’s world. Books on Bikes also brings along friendly service dogs and offers Freezy pops, warm, clothes, and cocoa, depending on the season.
Literacy on Wheels: Books on Bikes
Books on Bikes, Image credit: Books on Bikes, 2015 parade, Image credit: http://www.booksonbikescville.org/books-on-bikes-bike-parade-2015/
On Newsplex.com, member Stacy Diaz says,
“Kids love to read, so just to allow them to choose their own book, that they might be interested in and have something to read over break, is great for them.”
In June, they hosted their second Bike Parade, ending at the JMRL Summer Reading Kickoff Hullabaloo at the Central Library downtown, with help from local police and groups such as the Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee and Community Bikes.
Books on Bikes, 2015 parade, Image credit: http://www.booksonbikescville.org/books-on-bikes-bike-parade-2015/
Books on Bikes led a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 and members have presented their work at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference. They also ran Books on a Bus book delivery in summer 2015 and they have given out hundreds of books. You can find out more about this organizations’ work on their site as well as view their calendar and get in touch on their team contact page.
–Julia Travers, 2016
