2013 BFB Annual Report

8/13/2019 2013 BFB Annual Report

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NEWS AND NOTES ABOUT SHELBY COUNTY BOOKS FROM BIRTH

The Book ReportFALL 201

n January, Shelby County Books from Birtht a milestone: for the rst time, booksom the Imagination Library were now ine hands of more than 50% percent of the

hildren in Shelby County – a benchmarkat has continued to grow throughout 2013.ow, we are celebrating another benchmarkbig increases in reaching the children from

rth to age ve who live in some of theounty’s most challenged neighborhoods.

he Kindergarten Readiness Indicator (KRI)howed that the eight ZIP codes in Shelbyounty with the highest rates of povertynd crime –and the lowest rates of literacyalso have the lowest KRI scores: between0-58%.

y comparison, East Memphis neighborhood8120 has an average score of 80% on theRI – and that’s after children from private

chools are removed from the data.

he KRI is an 86-point test formerly deliv-ed to all incoming Memphis kindergartners

y their teachers, to determine readiness infferent subjects including reading andath. Recent research by The Urban Child

nstitute shows that kids who are part ofooks from Birth score 8 points higher one KRI scale than kids who did not partici-

ate in the program.

While BFB books go to children in all 33IP codes in Shelby County, and mosthowed an increase in the number of chil-ren enrolled in the program, the increase

particularly impressive in those eighteighborhoods where the KRI scores aree lowest.

Our focus on partnering with groups thatork effectively in these communities –in-uding the Junior League of Memphis and

the Prescription to Read program – is pay-ing off for the preschool children in theseneighborhoods,” says Katie Midgley, BFBBoard Member and outreach committee chair.

The eight neighborhoods with the highest

enrollment increases are:

38108--Kingsbury +18.29%38112--Highland Heights/ Hollywood-Jackson +17.19%38114--Orange Mound +23.75%38118--Airport +18.02%38122--Berclair +23.14%38126--Southeast Downtown

(Crump Boulevard) +7.75%38127--Frayser +13.36%38128--Raleigh +19.44%

In all, 1427 additional children were aas Books from Birth members in theight neighborhoods.

“It’s particularly gratifying to see the bgetting to more children in these neigh

hoods,” says BFB Executive Director P Abell. “Future educational success is dily related to a child’s readiness to read wentering kindergarten, and we are so gful to our community partners for helpBFB reach children in every neighborhin Shelby County.”

Enrollment Increases in Key NeighborhoodsCommunities with lowest literacy rates and highest crime

rates are the focus of outreach



elf-assessment is an approach we have taken over the past fewonths at Shelby County Books from Birth. It would be easy be satis ed with the success we have had over the past eight

ears in enrolling and graduating over 80,000 children. We knowom our research and our conversations with parents that thisrogram has a measured effect on kindergarten readiness. Weso know from conversations with parents that Books fromirth has been a valuable tool in helping to raise their children.ur own desire to evaluate our organization has begged us to

sk, is this good enough?

We send books to more than half of the children under ageve in the county at no charge to their families, so why do somearents not know this resource is available? With enrollmentdvertised at the six hospitals that deliver children, almostvery pediatric of ce, and scores of nonpro t and communityartners, how do any of our families seem to miss this timelypportunity? These are questions we think about a lot, andankly we need your help to solve them. After a deep lookto our lists of registered children, we have found that 60%

f children in the county have been enrolled for a signi canteriod. At any given time, however, only 52-53% of childrene enrolled, leading us to realize that retention, particularlyhen families move, is as much an issue as enrollment.

is very easy to enroll in Books from Birth. In fact, thereave never been so many ways to enroll or so many peoplencouraging and facilitating enrollment as we have today. Wean for that to always be the case. While wide-spread availability

oes not address our challenge of keeping children enrolled, itoes ensure that every family has a great opportunity to havegh-quality books delivered to the home. That’s a good place start.

We are rst tackling our retention challenges through betterommunication with parents, something we can do easily andithout much cost. Over time, we expect to see a signi cantcrease in families that stay in the program just from this

ffort alone. The second approach involves coordinatingith other networks that track data such as address changes,

peci cally when a child is involved. When a new utility serviceconnected, we should reference it against our names. When

arents apply for a child care credit, food stamps, or a housingoucher, they should have their addresses updated for Booksom Birth as well. This is already being managed centrally for

he entire state for children in foster care, of critical importanceor Shelby County, with 20% of Tennessee’s children.

you can think of a solution or idea to help us keep childrennrolled, please let me know. I am always available to you.

hank you for helping us build a community of readers.

eter Abell

xecutive Director

A Note From Our Director



We have a new home! After six years in East Memphis, Shelby CBooks from Birth has relocated to Midtown Memphis. We can be fat 2924 Walnut Grove Road, in of ce space just behind the Republicfee shop. Located in a neighborhood full of non-pro t agencies, ourspace is 2 blocks northwest of the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Liand close to BFB partner agencies including Literacy Mid-South, ANeighborhood Christian Centers, United Methodist Neighborhood C

ter and the Exchange Club Family Center.

The Books from Birth Board of Directors carefully considered sefactors when shopping for new of ce space. Goals for our new homcluded a location in the center of Memphis that would be easy for fato access by bus, would allow room to grow and, of course, would prcost savings. Our new home allows the BFB staff to spread out iseparate of ces and even provides our volunteers a dedicated work sIn the Republic Coffee shop is a shared conference room that can be for committee and board meetings. According to Executive Director P

Abell, “We are excited to have a new home inside Republic Coffeespace is not only more convenient for the majority of our parentsnonpro t partners, but represents a very signi cant cost savings foprogram. The owner of Republic Coffee has always shown a coment to literacy, and this has proven to be a wonderful home for us- you know - the coffee is really good.”

Please stop in and visit when you’re in the neighborhood – Peter anBFB staff would be thrilled to give you the grand tour!

New Of ce Location!

Lunch with Crissy Haslam



Thank you to our friends and supporters.Gifts of $100 and up made between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013

$100,000 +BlueCross Blueshield of TennesseeUnited Healthcare

$25,000 - 49,999Fleetwood Foundation, Inc.Shelby County Government

$10,000 - 24,999Church Of The Holy CommunionFirst Tennessee FoundationMr. and Mrs. Andrew MacQueen

Valero Energy Foundation

$5,000 - 9,999Dr. and Mrs. Walt ChamblissCommunity Foundation of GreaterMemphisFedExGiVE 365ndependent Bank nternational Paper Foundation

Mrs. Nell Rainer Levy Mr. and Mrs. John G. MortenMr. and Mrs. Peter SchuttThe Schadt Foundation

$2,500 - 4,999Baptist Memorial Health CareMr. and Mrs. Charles Dudley Mrs. Kathy FishMr. and Mrs. Andrew MarrNewsouth Capital Management, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Joe ScheunerShelby County Head StartMr. and Dr. KR SweetenUnited Way of The Mid-South

$1,000 - 2,499Buckeye Technologies, Inc.Mr. and Mrs. John BufordBurch, Porter and Johnson, LLCCommercial Bank & TrustDilettantes

Mr. and Mrs. JW GibsonMr. and Mrs. James GillilandLucille V. (Bonnie) Smith FundMr. and Mrs. Nick VergosRaleigh Group, PCMr. and Mrs. Andrew Saslawsky Mr. and Mrs. Andrew SeamonsMr. Tad Dutch and Ms. Teri ShanahanMr. and Mrs. Fred Smith

The Daily NewsMr. and Mrs. Corey TrotzMs. Sally Walker DaviesDr. and Mrs. Kenneth WeissXerox Corporation

$500 - 999Mrs. and Mrs. Elliot AbelMr. and Mrs. Hugh Mallory Mr. and Mrs. Byron CulpepperDave Lindstrom and Judy DrescherMr. and Mrs. Brown Dudley Mr. and Mrs. LE Eleazer, Jr.Mr.and Mrs. Jim Gilliland

Mr. and Mrs. Robert GoochDr. and Mrs. Thomas A. GuytonMr. and Mrs. Chris HeadMrs. Barbara Holden NixonHyde Family FoundationMr. and Mrs. Pierre LandaicheMr. and Mrs. Jeff McEvoy Mr. and Mrs. Logan MeeksMr. and Mrs. Thomas Midgley Ms. Brooke Morrow Mr. and Mrs. D. Stephen Morrow Mr. and Mrs. Demetri PatikasMr. and Mrs. Tom PeelerSt. George’s Independent SchoolMr. and Mrs. Tom Stephenson

The Urban Child InstituteMr. Bob Vidulich and Ms. Diane SachsMr. and Mrs. Jason WardMr. and Mrs. Page Williamson

$250 - 499Mr. and Mrs. Peter AbellMr. Jonny BallingerMr. and Mrs. Robert BatsonMs. Nancy BogatinMr. and Mrs. Bill BrandonMs. Laureen CantwellMr. Daniel CaseMr. and Mrs. Stuart CohenMr. and Mrs. Chris CornaghieMr. and Mrs. Tom CowensDelBrocco & Associates

Ms. Andra DeVincenzoMs. Shelley DurfeeMr. and Mrs. Kent FarmerMr. Harry FreemanMs. Becky GaffordMr. and Mrs. Art GilliamMs. Liz GillilandMr. and Mrs. David HarrisMs. Alice HigdonMr.and Mrs. John HuffmanMr. and Mrs. Kenneth JonesMs. Kim LaskoMr. Mack McCaulMs. Mary Jo MiddlebrooksMr. and Mrs. Dan O’BrienDr. and Mrs. Robert RuchMr. and Mrs. Kenneth SakauyeDr. and Mrs. Robert SchoumacherMr. and Mrs. Eddie SellersMr. and Mrs.Richard SporeMr. and Mrs. John Stevens

Mr. David StricklandMr. and Mrs. Lee Welch

$100 - 249Mr. John AdamsMr. and Mrs. Newton AndersonMr. and Mrs. Edward AppleMr. and Mrs. John BondurantMs. Deborah BookasMr. and Mrs. Micah BraffordMr. Joseph Brand



$100 - 249 (continued)Brandon/Fletcher GroupMr. and Mrs. Christopher BrubakerMr. Thomas BucciarelliMr. Christopher Burcky Mr. and Mrs. Pat Byrd

Ms. Susan CallisonMr. and Mrs. Norm CarlMr. Gary CarlsonMr. and Mrs. Robert Chickey Mr. and Mrs. M. Anderson CobbMr. and Mrs. J. Robert ColemanMr. and Mrs. Keith CollinsMr. and Mrs. Kemp ConradMr. James Curry Ms. Mary DavisMr. Yohann Demel

Dr. Heather DonatoMr. and Mrs. Lewis DonelsonMs. Sherry DuBoseMs. Catherine EleazerMr. and Mrs. Rob FischerMr. Kane FlinchumMr. and Mrs. Glenn FloydMr. and Mrs. Jerry Gay Germantown Presbyterian ChurchMr. Brown GillMr. R GillentineMs. CeCe GlennMs. Kathleen GomesMr. Geoffrey GoodinMr. and Mrs. John GreerMs. Brenda GrinderMr. and Mrs. JS HackettMs. Karen HaggardMs. Hana HakimMs. Pat HannahMr. and Mrs. Terry Hendrix

Dr. Holly Hilsenbeck Mr and Mrs. Carter HordMr and Mrs. Michael JaegerMr. and Mrs. Fred JohnsonMr. Jesse JohnsonMr. and Mrs. Kevin Johnston

Mr. and Mrs. Epps JonesMs. Cate JoyceMs. Charlene KalbMr. and Mrs. Philip Kaminsky Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth KimbleMr. and Mrs. Matt KinnearMr. and Mrs. Roger Knox

Mr. Robert LanierMr. John LeathMr. and Mrs. Dudley LeeMr. and Mrs. Mark LevineMs. Janet LoMs. Juanita LukeMs. Katie Mallory Ms. Adrianne MansonMr. Paul MaxwellMr. and Mrs. James McDonnellMr. and Mrs. Greg MeeksM.A.A.G.N MitchellMr and Mrs. Scott MorganMr. and Mrs. Walker MorrisMs. Ann MullisMr. and Mrs. John MutinMr. Ron NanceMs. Dorothy Orgill KirschMr. and Mrs. Daniel OstMr. and Mrs. Anir Patel

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Poag Powers Hill DesignMr. Ibrahim QaddoumiMrs. Marion QuinlenMr. and Mrs. Don ReedReliant Investment Management, LLCMr. and Mrs. Thomas RichardsonMr. and Mrs. William RyanMr. and Mrs. Tom Schoelkopf Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Schrank Mr. Eric SchuppMr. and Mrs. Kush ShahMr. and Mrs. RD SinghMr. and Mrs. David SmithMr. and Mrs. Grayson SmithMs. Paula Spence-EvansMs. Sheri Spurt

St. Augstine ChurchMr. and Mrs. Cleo StevensonMr. and Mrs. Jack StratonMr. Carlin StuartMr. and Mrs. Carlton SumnerMs. Linda TharpMr. and Mrs. Bradley Trammell

Ms. Shaeffer UptonMs. Lauren Utterback Drs. Susan and William Warner, Jr.Mrs. Judy Weatherly Mr. and Mrs.Jimmy WhittingtonMr. and Mrs. Ryan WhittingtonMr. and Mrs. Jay WilliamsMr. Kyle Yates

For a full listing of donors that mBooks from Birth possible last

please visit

www.booksf rombirth.or

0 1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

Foundation 41%

Corporation 36%

Government 4%

Individuals 10%

Events 9%

A Breakdown of Sources of Funding

BFB is a Gold-level GuideStar Exchangeparticipant, demonstrating its commitment

to transparency.



b o o k s f r o m b i r t h . o r g 901-820-4501

Books from Birth is changing lives by promoting kindergarten readiness andstrengthening family bonds in Shelby County. We greatly appreciate your support!

Board of DirectorsKim MacQueen – Chair Peter Schutt – Vice Chair

Diane Chambliss – SecretaryMack McCaul – Treasurer Dr. Becky Anderson

Brandon CooperSally Walker Davies

Judy DrescherDavid Harris

Cate Joyce John Lewis

Lisa Chow Mallory

Casey McNeilKatie Midgley

Lisa MortenChloee Poag Betsy SaslawskyMary ScheunerCarol SeamonsTeri ShanahanMarlene Shaw

Bianca Sweeten, MDMary Trotz

Jenny Mallery Vergos

Annual Report CreditsEditors:

Betsy Saslawsky, Sally Walker Davies,Andra DeVincenzo, Pat Hannah

Graphic Design: Alexandria Eddings

Peter Abell – Executive Director

2013 BFB Annual Report

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