Who We Are

Our Books For Kids Program collects and distributes books to underprivileged youth in over 50 agencies and organizations throughout Oregon and SW Washington. We collect both new and used books as donations from a variety of sources, including book drives and other donation programs. We apply for and receive grants from several local Foundations. We also partner with several local companies to raise funds for book purchases (Barnes & Noble Bookstores, being our best example). We use all donated funds to purchase new books. We seek new books from any source where we can receive a deep discount. In recent years our primary sources of these new books has been Scholastic, First Book Marketplace and Beyond Words Publishing. Through judicious purchasing, coupled with donated new books, our average cost of new books is kept between $2 and $3 each.

Our program began over 10 years ago with less than a thousand books distributed annually. It has steadily grown to in excess of 20,000 books in each of the past three years. Due to successful grant writing and other fundraising efforts, we have been able to annually increase the proportion of new books distributed. Our distribution base is continually expanding and changing, however we concentrate on hospitals, shelters for women and children, literacy programs, alternative schools and reading/mentor programs. We have been fortunate to locate a considerable number of bi-lingual and Spanish language books for young children.

During 2008, we distributed over 22,000 books to nearly 50 different agencies and organizations that work with disadvantaged youth. Over 77% of these books were new. We are proud that we were able to reach out to several organizations in Jackson and Josephine counties in Southern Oregon where libraries have been closed. We have also expanded our distributions beyond the Portland Metro area to Eugene, Tillamook, Bend and Clark and Skamania County Washington.

We insist that the children we serve receive the books free of any charge. Willamette Writers, Inc. subsidizes our minimal operating costs via their general fund.

Willamette Writers, Inc. is an Oregon non-profit corporation under Internal Revenue Code 501 (c)(3); hence any contributions are fully deductible to the extent of the tax law.

If anyone has any questions, please contact me @ 503-539-7688 or by email @ jnbisom@teleport.com , or you may contact the Willamette Writers, Inc. office @ 503-452-1592 www.willamettewriters.com.

Our mottos are:

A Book May be a Child's Only Friend
and
Every Child Should Have A Book Top Call Their Very Own

Jerry Isom
Director, Books For Kids
Willamette Writers, Inc.

You can use these links to make donations to Books for Kids using your credit or debit cards in the amount of $10 or $25.

$10 donation.

$25 donation

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It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is so, then a picture of a smiling youngster holding a book is a million words – or otherwise priceless!

Last year our Books For Kids Program was able to send a few books to Kenya. The above pictures are some of the result of that effort. It is very difficult to send books overseas anymore. We have lost the ability to send them via the Postal service and shipping them is not only financially difficult, in most cases they are stolen and destroyed as valueless. Heartbreaking, Huh?

However, a friend of our was willing to hand carry 50 #'s of books on the airplane with them when they went to Kenya. They are going again next month and we will be sending another 50#’s. Admittedly, it is a token effort, but at present it is the best we can do. We are seeking additional opportunities to get books overseas to children who have none. We are also exploring means of getting books to Green Village Schools in Afghanistan. We were able to send books there several years ago. But, last October rebels descended on Green Village Schools and completely razed and destroyed the entire operation. A local Afghan Dr. has vowed to reestablish the Green Village School and we are working to supply him with some of our books. We are also connecting with the Central Asian Institute, (did you read Three Cups of Tea), to get books to their schools also.

The main focus of Books For Kids remains on underprivileged children in our own area, but we will make every effort to get books to any children overseas who need them. If you have any means of delivery, please contact me at the Willamette Writers’ office (503) 245-1592 or via booksforkids@willamettewriters.com and we will be ready to respond. At present, hand carrying seems the only viable option.

Jerry Isom

Director, Books For Kids

Who We Serve

The Wynne Watts School, an alternative school for homeless children, is operated by Albertina Kerr Center. Their need was to update the library. Books for Kids was able to provided new literary fiction, classroom reading sets and current reference materials.

The Community Transition School, an alternative school for homeless children, needed classroom reading sets and a set of encyclopedias for each classroom in addition to other science and creative reference materials to encourage the children's research projects. Books for Kids delivered! The Christie School teachers and councilors requested teenage self-help and motivational books. Books for Kids fulfilled their need.

The Experience Corps, a group of retirees who volunteer to read in local schools under the sponsorship of Metropolitan Family Services need more material. Our Books for Kids project delivered over 600 books.

Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital needed specific reading material to conduct regular school classes for long-term patients.

We supplied over 100 Spanish and English books to Kindergarten Summer Boost Reading Project in Beaverton, Oregon.

Books For Kids collects new and used books for less fortunate children and teenagers and distributes them through over 45 agencies and organizations in the Portland Metropolitan area as well the Eugene and Medford areas. These include Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital, Providence Children's Foundation, The Community Transition School, Ronald McDonald House, Parry Center, Albertina Kerr Agencies, several Toy & Joy Makers Programs, Friendly House, Neighborhood House, Christie School, Bradley Angle House, Children's Club, Metro Family Services, Letty Owens Center, Portland Impact, Raphael House, Rosemont School, Waverly Children's Home, Salvation Army Family Services Center, Eugene Mission, St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter, Medford & Phoenix Head Start Programs, YMCA Kindergarten and eighteen other children's advocacy and support organizations.

The programs we support distribute all donated books to children free of charge.

Please remember: A book may be a child's only friend. Books For Kids needs YOUR Help!

How Can You Help?

• Collect new or good-conditioned used books at your work, church or service organization.
• Whenever you buy a book, purchase an extra children's book and donate it to Books For Kids.
• Volunteer to write a grant or organize a fund-raising drive.
• Lead us to discounted books available for purchase from publishers or book sellers.
• Encourage your children to mine their good condition books that they have outgrown for donation to less fortunate children.
• Use this form to make a tax-deductible cash donation which we will use to purchase books for distribution to the organizations we serve.

Oregon Cultural Trust

Willamette Writers is one of the non-profits in Oregon that offers a tax credit for a donation made to Willamette Writers Books for Kids Program through the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Community Recognition

Books for Kids coordinator Jerry Isom was awarded the 2003 Walt Morey Special Award by Literary Arts, Inc. for his role in administering Books for Kids. When Jerry took over the project it was collecting a few hundred used books a year. He built up the program to where it now distributes over 23,000 new and used books every year to children and teenagers in the state of Oregon.