There is an educator’s expression that goes, “We learn to read so we can read to learn.”
Early age literacy is a key building block for developing quality education. When the Idaho Lottery learned from the Idaho Commission on Libraries that 28% of every public school had a budget of $100 or less for book acquisition, we created the Bucks for Books program to help. This program asked the Idaho Lottery’s VIP Club members to donate their loyalty points to purchase books for schools in lieu of assigning them to enter sweepstakes prizes.
One recent Thursday morning, a small team from the Idaho Lottery visited Naples Elementary school in the northern Idaho, panhandle lumber town of Naples to make one of the first Bucks for Books school awards. It was a cool, inland northwest morning, full of mist and fog hanging in the mountainside pine trees. Inside the school’s cafeteria/gymnasium, the reception was exceptionally warm. A school assembly of teachers, administrators, and students greeted the Lottery Officials for the formal check presentation.
The school’s librarian, Amber Balk, received an oversized check for $2,000 and then enthusiastically unwrapped a gigantic box wrapped in festive decor in front of the crowd. When she reached into the box and produced its contents, handfuls of new books, the gathering of about 100 students erupted in wild cheers of enthusiasm! One young student even proclaimed, “There are so many new books I’m going to have to read!”
On the door to the library at Naples Elementary is a poster that says, “Reading Matters.” To help build a quality book circulation, Amber personally had been purchasing books at thrift stores out of her own pocket without opportunity for reimbursement. The small library is full of old, aging books, many with dilapidated covers, bindings which are falling apart, and editions that are decades old. Kindergartners and 1st grade students at the school had not been allowed to check out books and take them home. These young students were limited to reading in the library only, and then just twice a week. With the help of this program, though, kindergartners and 1st graders will now be allowed to check out books and take them home to read.
It is the season of giving. But this is more than just about providing a large oversized check. What mattered to the students at Naples Elementary was not the dollar amount, but the large oversized box of books full of new titles to read, new adventures to pursue, and new learning opportunities for all. Indeed, from those 100 students, we learned that reading does matter.
