Baltimore Reads: 20 years of books
OK, so Baltimore Reads isn't exactly a bookstore. But I figure since I write the posts, I make the rules.
And the vast amount of books this organization has provided to the community for the past two decades makes them profile-worthy to me.
The organization's primary focus has been to combat adult illiteracy, but with the birth of the book bank in 1992, Baltimore Reads has donated more than 1 million books, new and used, for families to read together.
If you ever want to donate books to the cause, their warehouse is in a pretty familiar place: The Baltimore Sun building at 501 N. Calvert St. And the friendly staff are always happy to receive both donations and volunteers.
The Ripken Adult Learning Center, which is housed in the Baltimore Reads main location on Frederick Street, services hundreds of adults every year, helping many earn their GEDs.
In other words, this is an extremely worthy enterprise, manned by people who care about books and making them available to everyone.
A little background
It all begain in 1988, when Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke created the Baltiomre City Literacy Corp. to address the illiteracy rate in the city. Baltimore Reads was founded through funding from the city's agency and the United Way to teach basic reading, writing, math and employment readiness skills, according to the profile provided by Apriel N. Jefferson, the organization's development coordinator.
Baltimore Reads also aids teachers, with curriculum development and even providing tables and chairs for classroom reading areas, as I was shown in a recent tour of the warehouse with CEO Shirley Bigley LaMotte, Jefferson and the staff.
Clientele
With a focus on the family, Baltimore Reads reaches out to residents of all ages. The Ripken Adult Learning Center, which opened in 1990, offers weekly daytime and evening classes that are open to both walk-in and referred students. According to the profile, 300 students were reached in fiscal 2007, and the organization hopes to expand their services to 500 students with online options and more locations.
And children are definitely not ignored in the literacy mission. The book bank has provided books to "schools, churches, Head Start programs, neighborhood service centers and families," and the bank received 18,000 more books during the Books for Kids Day held in May, according to Jefferson.
Volunteers
Baltimore Reads depends on its steady group of volunteers, who tutor and support the annual events, including Phatom Ball and area festivals. If you're interested in helping out, you can download an application at their Web site. I can tell you, the staff appreciates any and all who come to help them on their mission.
(Photo courtesy of baltimorereads.org)
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
Baltimore Reads loves you guys! We are glad you came to visit ( it was not that long a walk!) and we are always happy to receive your contributions to the Book Bank.
Maybe we should add a Read Street category on Volunteer Opps for Readers as I am sure sure there are other organizations and groups out there who need some good literate folks to help them out too...... We could not have gotten the Book Bank reorganized this summer w/o the help of wonderful volunteers. We love them too!
Posted by: Shirley Bigley LaMotte | September 2, 2008 4:47 PM