Books from Birth:
because early access to books can pave a path out of poverty
The need
Access to books in the home from an early age is the best predictor of academic success. And almost two-thirds of children living in poverty do not have a single book in their home.
When children enter school behind their more affluent peers, they almost never catch up. And the cycle of poverty continues.
But we’re changing that.
Our response
Books from Birth strives to narrow the opportunity and achievement gaps for underprivileged children in Texas’ Brazos Valley by making sure all children have a high-quality home library – from birth.
We run three programs in the Brazos Valley to distribute over 20,000 books to the most at-risk children in a four-county region, thereby laying the foundations for a lifetime of literacy and academic success - and a path out of poverty:
Clinics
Research shows that giving books to families boosts children's literacy. And also that books make the biggest impact when they come with parent reading tips - and when they come from a trusted healthcare provider (de Bondt et al 2020).
Books from Birth partners with six clinics around the Brazos Valley to hand out packs of three high-quality, age-appropriate books, plus parent reading tips, to children at their newborn and annual well visits until age five.
Schools
Students lose, on average, 20 - 40% of their reading gains from the year over the two-month summer break. But research shows that allowing students to choose books to take home over summer can prevent that loss - and even lead to reading gains.
Books from Birth provides Title I primary schools in Hearne, Calvert, and Mumford, Texas, with a selection of high-interest books, allowing students to each pick three books to take home in May.
Angel Tree
There’s a saying that at the holidays every child should be gifted something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.
Each year the Brazos County Salvation Army makes sure the impoverished children of Bryan and College Station receive the first three. And Books from Birth partners with them to make sure every child also receives a book - and a boost on their path to literacy.
You can help.
Every $1 you give puts a book into the hands of a child in need - and helps pave their path out of poverty.
Make a gift today that will pay dividends for a child's lifetime.
