FIRST BOOK

First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that transforms the lives of children growing up in low-income communities through equal access to literacy and educational opportunities. We apply strategies from the private sector to resolve the fundamental social issue of education inequality. In the U.S. alone, more than 32 million children – 45% of U.S. kids – are growing up in low-income households.

We launched the program in 2014 at Burlington County College under the leadership of then Vice President, Dr. Beverly Richardson, who has since retired and remains as our program coordinator. Dr. Richardson was instrumental in creating a service learning program for students, a program that has since been adopted by our other college partners. A very important and added value to our First Book Program is the civic experience that our College and now High school students receive. Students become very involved in unloading, sorting, bundling and distributing books to kids in need. These students volunteer 2-6 hours during the week and receive Service Learning Credits which are earmarked on their transcripts. Students also enjoy giving back to the community while earning very valuable experiences. Presently, there are seven (7) community colleges, several food banks, and faith based, community organizations which serve as our distribution network for books.
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Since March 2014, 540,000 books have been distributed in NJ, under the leadership of the AACCNJ and President Harmon. The NJ First Book Program is dedicated to providing brand new quality books to NJ kids in need. The goal of the project is to encourage student reading in and beyond the classroom and to establish home libraries for kids who do not own books. This program is a major ingredient for eradicating illiteracy. Over the years we have successfully identified a number of critical partners that have contributed to our program. Rochelle Hendricks, Secretary of Higher Education has been helpful in endorsing the program, contributing resources and making introductions to several community college presidents to secure their participation.