Book lovers are encouraged to continue to shop locally and  donate a book to the Family Book Club.  We then distribute the books throughout the year to children in our community in partnership with such organizations as Head Start, SOS, Avalon Housing, Perry Nursery School, HOPE and Packard health clinics.  Children of incarcerated parents also receive books and a recording of the book read by their parents through the Family Book Club program Staying in Closer Touch.

In recent years several research studies have found that the number of books in a child’s home correlates with success in school.   At Family Book Club we work hard all year to get books into the homes of children whose parents can’t afford to buy books and who may have difficulty getting to the public library.   Help us continue to give away 8,000  – 9,000 books every year.

Realtor Ed Surovell has offered his office lobby as a drop-off location with handy parking at 1898 W Stadium Blvd. 

In August we began recruiting volunteers to work with the incarcerated moms, bought supplies, began the process of obtaining security clearances and volunteer training. The program met with the first group of women at the correctional facility in September. The number of children served by Staying in Closer Touch has now increased by over 100 percent. The incarcerated mothers express their deep appreciation for this program over and over. They ask who is buying the books. They are so grateful to have this opportunity to connect with their children in this special and meaningful way. We have found the staff at HVWCF to be very supportive of this program. Our volunteers find the work very rewarding. We know we are doing something very meaningful for these parents and their children.

The Gladwin Barn was a beautiful venue for a fall celebration and was a perfect venue for hanging fabulous a collection of “Storybook Quilts” on loan to us from the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild.  Each quilt is a recreation of a quilt found in a children’s picture book.   As guests entered the space they were greeted by a vivid, beautifully quilted image of the African folk lore spider Anansi as he is depicted in the children’s picture book, Anansi the Spide:r A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott.  The Anansi quilt was created by local librarian Judy Schmidt.

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, FBC Board president Jenni Zimmer thanked a crowd of over 100 supporters and volunteers for their continued commitment to helping families develop a love of reading.  She noted that although the Family Book Club is a very small organization, it has been successful in reaching many families by partnering with many local service providers. These include public health organizations, pre-schools, affordable housing groups and others that work with low income families who do not have the budget to buy books and often lack opportunities to visit their local libraries.

LaRon Willliams ended the celebration with his entertaining and creative storytelling of an Anansi tale.  Mr. Williams performed at the first party for supporters of Baby Book Club nearly twenty years ago.

We thank all the many people who made this celebration a joyful one!  Listed below are the names of some of the local businesses who contributed to the party:

A & L Wine Castle, Arbor Farms, Back Alley Gourmet, Busch’s Fresh Food Market, Cakes by Dianne, Caribou Coffee, Great Harvest Bread Company,Hiller’s Markets, Target, and Trader Joe

Our open house party is an opportunity for FBC supporters and community partners to meet and greet one another, learn more about our programs, and celebrate our mutual appreciation for books and reading.

In a celebratory mood we will have:
• local band Nutshell performing their lovely,  Celtic influenced tunes
• delicious food donated by local caterers and grocers
• champagne toast
• the cozy and open ambiance of the Gladwin barn and it’s beautiful gardens
• Storybook Quilts from the Greater Ann Arbor Quilting Guild
•  a beautiful Anansi the Spider quilt made by local librarian Judy Schmidt
• brief multimedia presentation looking back and looking forward

At 4:30 we will have a brief program including a Skype conversation between FBC co-founders Joan Weisman and Jenni Zimmer giving us all an opportunity to thank Joan for starting the Baby Book Club and also to wish her a belated happy 90th birthday.

We hope to see many of you there!  RSVP’s welcome but not at all necessary!
734-645-1320 or dsaulter@familybookclub.org

To find Gladwin Farm, from Ann Arbor, traveling west on W. Liberty from the intersection of Wagner and Liberty, go a full mile and look for the white picket fence on the left and purple and white balloons!

Note: Although there is plenty of parking at Gladwin Farm we encourage car pooling.    There will be parking helpers to direct cars to parking spots.  Note:  there is no parking allowed on Skyhawk which is around the corner off Liberty.

Please join us September 25th!  We look forward to thanking you!

Students obtained pledges from family and friends and started reading . . . a lot!

When the Read-a-thon was over school librarian Lissa Main was thrilled to find that students had turned in pledge money of close to $2000!  Way to go Daycroft readers!

Family Book Club thanks the Daycroft students and their family and friends for generously supporting our mission to give every child in Washtenaw County an equal opportunity to develop a love of reading and books.

We at Family Book Club are touched and delighted with the generosity of our community.

The Educational Program for Homeless Youth is a program supervised by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.  Their goal is to keep 200 homeless/independent teens on target for high school graduation.  They meet with this unique population several times a year and provide books that are tied to the expressed interests of these young adults.

The Victory Academy Preschool is a Great Start School Readiness Program (GSRP) that focuses on 4 year olds from low income families in Ypsilanti.  Many of these children come from homes in which there are no books and our “Read to Kids” program will be most helpful for their development.

The Central Academy Preschool is another GSRP program from Ypsilanti.  They telescope their attention on children from homes in which English is not the primary language.  Our “Read to Kids” program will enhance their language readiness skills as they prepare to enter the school system.