January 2025
Hello, friends! Greetings in the new year! All of us at Barkley’s Bookshelf are excited for 2025
and eagerly anticipate the book joy we will spread to young readers in our community and
beyond. Established programs such as our Book Fairs and Book Bundles will continue, and we
will introduce new programming in the coming months.
Because of your belief in our mission last year was
a time of impact and growth. We served approximately 2,900 children, reaching a larger number of young readers than ever before. Books distributed through Book Fairs increased by 25% and
books distributed via Book Bundles increased by 76%. We reached a milestone of 10,000+ books
distributed since inception in mid-year, and finished out the year with a total of 13,400+ books
distributed since March of 2022!
These landmarks were reached because someone like YOU cared about children’s literacy. Our
supporters encouragement was noted through the increase in virtual book drives and new
volunteers at our events. An increase in monetary donations and grants, up by 40% over the
previous year, demonstrated belief in our work. The end result of this generosity can be viewed through the stories and pictures in this issue of our newsletter which highlight the happiness found in selecting books to keep forever.
Thank you for being a part of our Vision: Every child is a reader, and every child is a book
owner.
Yours in reading,
Brenda
|