Photo by Philip Burn
This holiday season, some lucky Brazos Valley children will be surprised with an extra present to unwrap, in addition to those from their wish list — a gift that can make a difference. Books from Birth, a Hearne-based nonprofit, is teaming up with the Salvation Army Bryan/College Station’s Angel Tree program to ensure every child gets something to read, in addition to something they want and something to wear. “To get a new book in the hands of every child — the blessing of that is just immeasurable,” says Andrea Israel, commanding officer for the Salvation Army Bryan/College Station. Donors do not necessarily think of purchasing books for the children unless it is not specifically requested, she says.
Angel Tree seemed like the perfect way to get to the most underserved kids and make sure they are getting a book,” says Rebecca Villareal, who founded Books from Birth last year.
Through this partnership, Books from Birth will distribute an extra 2,100 books in addition to the 8,000 they already give out throughout the year to area clinics, schools, and libraries, and grocery stores. “Books will be provided that are appropriate for children based on age and gender,” Israel says. Kids aged 0 to 8 will receive the same book, while parents of those aged 8 to 12 will be offered a selection to choose from. “Reading for pleasure is really important,” Villareal says. “Hopefully, they'll be able to see something that they think their child would be interested in.”
Villareal’s inspiration for Books from Birth is rooted in Dolly Parton’s Imagine Library that ships free books to children ages 0 to 5 around the world. According to their website Parton “wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create.” and over 1 million books are put into children’s hands every month through this program. “It really starts before school, by the time kids get to kindergarten, it’s already too late, you’re already playing catch up,” says Villareal. “That age zero to three, is just really important. There’s so much brain development that happens at that time.”
She incorporates research from national programs, including Imagine Library, and tailors it to the Hearne area to make sure to have the highest participation rate possible, she says. “I spent a couple years doing a lot of research on the cycle of poverty and on education’s role in breaking the cycle,” she says.
Books from Birth gets their books from Scholastic and First Book, a nonprofit that works with publishers to purchase books at a cut rate. “Because of those donations from publishers, we get a lot
of great books at a low cost,” Villareal says. Target also donates gift cards to Books from Birth to purchase books by Dr. Seuss. “We’re really conscious of the quality,” she says. “We’re trying to get books that are high readability for parents.”
Books are placed in The Health Point Clinic and CHI St. Joseph Health in Hearne. In the clinics, children aged 0 to 5 take home a five-pack of books, which they receive at their annual check-up. Little Free Libraries, with books available for the taking, are set up inside the Brookshire Brothers and the Hearne Supermarket in Hearne. Anyone can take a book or place one on the shelf. “At the grocery stores, they’re very popular,” says Villareal. Books are also given away to Title I schools in Mumford, Calvert, and Hearne. “We have been hearing from the nurses, from the grocery store managers, from the teachers, just how excited the kids are and how appreciative the parents are,” she says. “I think there is a real thirst for books in the community.”
“The excitement of the kids — I just can’t explain it,” says Roxanne Kleiber Mumford, principal of Mumford ISD in Bryan. She remembers when the pre-K children received their very own book. “They were used to being able to get a book, but then having to give it back,” she says. “They were shocked when we told them that it was theirs to keep.”
Villareal hopes that through Books from Birth, she can get a minimum of 20 children’s books into each Brazos Valley home. “There’s a lot of research showing that having 20 books at home makes it vastly more likely that a child will graduate from high school,” she says. “We don’t have numbers yet showing that test scores are going up, but we know that there’s a quality of life difference for kids to be able to cuddle up with parents at night and read a bedtime book.” IN
Books from Birth will host a book drive from Nov. 27 to Dec. 22, 2021. Board and picture books are needed, but they will accept any children’s books including young adult novels along with coloring and activity books. Books can be dropped off at Morningstar Storage, 10099 SH 30, College Station. For more information, visit sites.google.com/view/books-from-birth/home or email hearnebooksfrombirth@gmail.com. For more information about the local Angel Tree program, visit salvationarmytexas.org.
