Writing the next Chapter

Writing the next Chapter

books2Shrewsbury, NJ (April 28, 2014)- The Bridge of Books Foundation (BoB) announced today that it has embarked on the next chapter of its mission to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout New Jersey, by creating a long range plan and establishing office space in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

“We’re so excited to begin this new process of growth,” said Founder and Executive Director Abby Daly.  “There’s no question that there is an overwhelming need for the work we do. The over 400,000 books we’ve distributed have touched only a fraction of the children in the State who need books to call their own.  We know that reading allows students to find out more about the larger world around them, while improving their literacy skills and opening their minds to new ideas.  With our new office space and the help of Holly Lyttle and HFL & Associates, who are facilitating the development of our strategic plan, we know that this organization can do even more to help the children of New Jersey.  There’s no stopping Bridge of Books now! “

HFL & Associates is a non-profit consulting and training company, specializing in Board training and development, strategic planning and fundraising.  HFL will perform an organizational analysis of Bridge of Books, create a plan to help BoB reach its objective growth and will help to implement that plan over the next three years.

BoB’s new office space is located in the Shrewsbury Executive Offices, at 788 Shrewsbury Avenue, just south of Sycamore Avenue in Tinton Falls.   Bridge of Books Foundation is still in search of combined storage and office space in the Red Bank area, which ideally has ground floor access and at least 1,000 square feet of storage space and 300 square feet of office space.  “We’re in great hopes that a local individual or business will see the importance of the work we do and help us to continue to grow,” said Daly.  Without physical space for storage, we’re limited in the number of books we can distribute.  There are too many children in this State who need our help.”

Bridge of Books Foundation’s latest programs have included TEENS TALK BOOKS, which was designed to reach teens through writing contests held at high schools across the state.  The goal of the program was to encourage recreational reading and to gather data on how teens view reading and to find out what books interest them.    The program was first launched in 2012 in the Newark Public Schools and was followed-up with similar programs in Keansburg High School and Lakewood High School.   “Again and again we heard from the students that only a fraction considered their home the best place to find a book, leading us to believe that we need to get more books into these children’s homes, said Daly.  “And that’s what the Bridge of Books Foundation is all about.”  TEENS TALK BOOKS was made possible through the generous support of the Charles Lafitte Foundation (CLF) (Brielle) and the Charles Edison Fund (Newark).  Both are active annual donors to Bridge of Books.

Founded in 2003, the mission of the Bridge of Books Foundation is to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout New Jersey in order to support literacy skills and to encourage a love of reading.  To date, over 400,000 books have been donated to children across the state.