Book Worm Angels
Location: 17 Savage Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Contact: Clarence (Ren) Manning, clarence_manning@bellsouth.net
Website: http://www.bookwormangels.org/
OVERVIEW
Description of Group/Organization and programs
offered which relate to improving literacy:
Book Worm Angels mission is to foster recreational reading habits among
pre-K - 8th grade students in high-poverty schools where reading scores are
substantially below grade, and thereby to improve reading skills and scores. To
this end, it engages middle and high schools, churches, businesses and other
organizations to conduct book drives to collect gently used recreational
reading children's books, which it donates to area public elementary and middle
schools to create in-classroom lending libraries of 7-10 books per student. The
BWA program is voluntary, but students are encouraged to select books to take
home and read, and parents/caregivers are urged to turn off the tv and read
with their children for 20-30 minutes per night.
Area(s) of Charleston County
served:
Since rolling out its activities
in the fall of 2011, Book Worm Angels has collected and donated over 15,000
books to Mary Ford Elementary School, James Simons Elementary School and
Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary School and plans to expand its book donations
and reading program in other Charleston County elementary and middle schools as
books become available.
SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Are services offered in any schools? Yes
Currently, our program serves Mary Ford Elementary, James Simons
Elementary and Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary Schools; other Charleston
County schools will be offered the BWA program as books become available.
The program is not constrained by hours or time of day. BWA donates 7-10 books per student to create in-classroom lending libraries from which students are encouraged to select books to take home and read with their parents/caregivers. The schools urge parents/caregivers to turn off the TV and read with their children for 20-30 minutes per night.
OUTREACH AND IN-HOUSE PROGRAMS
Do services include any non-school outreach to
the community? Yes
Description of Outreach initiatives:
High-poverty and at-risk elementary and middle schools are offered books
to create in-classroom libraries from which students can select books to take
home and read outside the normal school curriculum. Parents/caregivers
are urged to turn off the ty and read with their children for 20-30 minutes
every night. Important side benefits are greater involvement of
parents/caregivers in their children's education and improved literacy for
themselves as well by reading with their children.
Population(s) directly served by organization: Elementary School
Middle School
Parents/Caregivers
ASSESSMENT
Annual written teacher surveys
PARTNERSHIPS
Interested
in establishing a partnership with another organization/group?
Yes
First, we need thousands of outgrown gently-used children's recreational
reading books; accordingly, we need on-going access to large, relatively
affluent schools, churches, businesses and other organizations who are willing
to conduct book drives for us. Secondly, we solicit ideas and collaboration
with other organizations/groups in designing ways to encourage greater
parent/caregiver and student interaction in home reading activities. Finally,
we need a permanent location to store books collected during book drives
pending donation to schools; a 15' x 15' storage room or warehouse area would
be sufficient.
VOLUNTEERS
Are there volunteer opportunities? Yes.
From time to time and when needed, Book Worm Angels uses volunteers to
contact schools, churches, businesses and other organizations to encourage them
to conduct book drives; to pick up, triage and store the collected books; to
contact principals at schools to offer book donations and the BWA program; to deliver books to schools accepting the BWA program; and to conduct a brief training orientation for school teachers. In general, book
drives are held in the spring and books are donated to schools at the beginning
of the school year in the fall. Preparatory work precedes such activities by
several months.
Volunteer coordinator’s contact information : Clarence (Ren) Manning, 404.202.6039, clarence_manning@bellsouth.net
