BookWORM has collected and distributed over 10,000 children’s books in the Forsyth County community in its first two years.

Here are some examples of the impact and importance of this project:

“I just wanted to share that I work as a speech-language pathologist with pediatrics in home health (when I’m not at Arts Based School) and we get referrals from Imprints and Amos Cottage often. I’ve seen really nice books in low income homes and when I turn the book over, I see the bookworm sticker on it. I use the books in my therapy sessions and show families how they can use the books to work on speech, language, and literacy development. I think this committee is awesome and making a great impact! I always feel proud to be a part of the organization that helps so many people in the community.”
-Lauren Minta (Junior League member)

“At the beginning of every school year I ask my students what they read over the summer. Many of them tell me that they did not read at all. When I ask them “why” they respond that the reason is that there are no books in their homes. I was able to collect books from BookWORM and pass them out to my students at the end of the school year so that they would have something to read over the summer. They were thrilled!”
-Mrs. O

BookWORM has been an absolute blessing for our school.  We work for a Title 1 school that services students who experience high levels of poverty.  We operate on a 100 percent free lunch basis, and for many of our students, this lunch is one of the only meals they will eat in the day.  A gift of any sort is special for these students who have so little, a book even more so.  Studies show that reading even five to fifteen minutes a day helps improve literacy and student success rates in school.  By giving these students books to help build their personal libraries and improving the offerings of their school library, BookWORM is quite literally providing these students with an increased chance of a successful school career and an enhanced life.  Our students’ eyes lit up when they first saw us bringing the books into our school, and it was easy to see that they were excited about the prospect of so many great titles waiting for them to read.  Simply put, BookWORM is working to kindle that love of literature that is core to a successful child.

Providing literature for children is one of the most important steps a community program can take for improving the lives of its students.  A fellow staff member told me this year that she was working with an impoverished child one day and asked him, “What do you need at home to help you be successful?”  He responded to her, “Clothes and books.”  Right next to clothing—a basic necessity for human beings—a child listed books as what he needed to be successful in life.  Literature is the lifeblood of a successful community, helping youth grow into inquiring, flexible, intelligent adults that can in turn grow our community further.  With so many of our students going without this necessity, it is vital that we work to bring literature to our children.  BookWORM is instrumental to meeting that need, and we commend them for their striving to help bring the joy of reading to children in need across Winston-Salem.

-Media Coordinator, Forsyth County Title 1 Elementary School