Bess Great American Book Drive

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Bess Great American Book Drive

• Jennifer Pierce
• Founder, CEO

www.bessthebookbus.org
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The journey is more than its destinations.

• Bess Great American Book Drive is a
  coast-to-coast literacy outreach. We will travel
  from Florida to the California and back reading
  to kids and giving away books at First Book
  recipient sites during out of school times. It
  will take 65 days, 2 people (myself and my sister
  who was my first volunteer), 1 van wrapped to
  look like a bus and sporting the sponsors logos,
  and 5,000 books. We will depart Florida and make
  our way to BEA, making stops as we go. We will
  visit school based and non-school sites. Then,
  BEA! 4 days in LA, some inner-city outreach, and
  back on the road. We will take an alternate route
  back, visiting more sites, impacting at least 25
  sites and 2,500 kids.  

www.bessthebookbus.org
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Bess is traveling to 24 states in 65 days
delivering 1,000s of books to children and their
families. Click here for fun facts on any state!
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The Need to Read

• Reading aloud to children is the single most
  effective practice for enhancing emerging
  literacy skills. Future leaders cannot be
  inspired without the help of great books and
  enthusiastic mentors to nurture their interests.
• Approximately 80 percent of the achievement gap
  between economically
• privileged and less advantaged students occurs
  in the summer months.
• The U.S. Department of Education recently
  concluded that nearly two thirds of the
  low-income families they studied owned no books
  for their children.

www.bessthebookbus.org
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Travels Through the PagesCelebrating Our
Beautiful Country With Books
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Hip-hip hooray! Today is the day that Bess starts
her journey to places far, far away! Each place
will be different. Each face will be new. Wait,
something is missing. Oh, my. Its you! So please
wont you join us? Come right along. The kids are
all waiting. How could we go wrong?
www.bessthebookbus.org
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We knew you would love it! Climb on in. Buckle
up. Turn the key. Just wait till you see all of
the books we will read.
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Well share fabulous stories, and then you will
see- I am like you and you are like me. Well
laugh and well cry. Well scream and well
shout. Well explore cover- to cover. Thats
what life is about.
www.bessthebookbus.org
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While reading our books well go to new places.
Well meet lots of new friends with bright
smiling faces.
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Well all get new books. Two for me. Two for you.
Books filled with places to go, and cool things
to do!
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Now lets not forget our friends back at home,
patiently waiting for a book of their own. Kids,
check the mail. There are books from each state,
and letters from friends that we made on the way!
Do you have an idea or a question for Bess? Check
the Page Pals link on our website, and see what
she says!
www.bessthebookbus.org
www.bessthebookbus.org
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All the Facts

• Founded in 2004, Bess the Book Bus (BBB) is a
  mobile literacy outreach program dedicated to
  getting books into the homes of underserved
  children and families. BBB is a year-round,
  ongoing outreach focused on Title I schools and
  underserved populations in Hillsborough County
  and rural surrounding communities. Bess travels
  to schools, community centers, shelters,
  after-school programs and summer programs
  distributing free books and reading to her
  friends.
• Bess has distributed nearly 100,000 books and
  served over 6,000 families in just under three
  years.
• Readings are interactive read -alouds that
  often integrate music and props.
• In 2005, Bess was recognized as a Bay News 9
  Every Day Hero, featured on Fox News's
  Whats Right With Tampa Bay and awarded
  Community Volunteer of the Year by the Lanier
  Head Start Program. In 2006, Bess received
  Community Volunteer of the Year from three
  additional Head Start programs.
• Bess also has been recognized and funded by the
  Tampa Bay Lightning and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
  She has also been featured in many stories on
  local Fox, NBC and CBS television affiliates plus
  articles in The St. Petersburg Times and The
  Tampa Tribune.
• 5013(c) Tax ID number 510518142

www.bessthebookbus.org
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Become a partner and help Bess complete her
journey

• Great American Book Drive Project Budget

Donations are accepted either in dollars or
in-kind
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Support Bess at Home

• Annual Budget Local Outreach

Donations are accepted either in dollars or in
kind
www.bessthebookbus.org
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Community Response

• http//bessthebookbus.org/buzz.php
• http//centraltampa2.tbo.com/content/2007/jun/16/s
  t-spreading-the-word/?news

www.bessthebookbus.org
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Bess Big Friends at Home

• http//bessthebookbus.org/sponsors.php

www.bessthebookbus.org
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References

• http//www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
• www.firstbook.org
• References

www.bessthebookbus.org