Our Story
Our founders understand the need for children to be read to and then to read. Recognizing that many children in Orange County do not have adequate access to books, we donated about 250 children’s books to an operator of homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities in 2019. Soon we were furnishing children’s books to community service centers and becoming aware of further needs. We formed Be A Bookworm in 2021 to address these needs.
Be A Bookworm is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit public benefit charity, and is run entirely by volunteers.
Our Mission . . . Serving kids in need
At Be A Bookworm we concentrate our efforts in the communities of lowest income to achieve maximum benefits -- pockets of poverty based on census tract data where the percent of population below the poverty level is 20 to 30 percent.
. . . Giving books to infants and young children
We focus our programs on infants and very young children. Children’s brain development occurs at an explosive rate in the first few years of life. Children who are healthy and developmentally ready when they start kindergarten are more likely to meet academic performance goals in third grade, to graduate high school, become healthy adults, compete for higher paying jobs, and reduce reliance on expensive social services. They are less likely to repeat a grade, are 4.6 times more likely to get a college degree, and earn up to $2,000 more per month.
[2018 Orange County Community Indicators Report]
. . . Building home libraries
We help families build a large home library of books for their children. Kids who grow up in book-filled homes build stronger vocabularies, increase awareness and comprehension, and expand horizons. Moreover, they develop higher reading, math and technological skills.
[Social Science Research, Volume 77, January 2019, pages 1-15]
. . . Measuring the benefits
The effectiveness of our work needs to be measurable to ensure we are providing the most benefit to the children we serve. In some of our programs at Be A Bookworm we give books to families on a continuing basis, starting when their children are very young, and are able to evaluate the academic progress of their children in school.
Our Be A Bookworm Team
Board of Directors and Officers
Steve Allison, Founder, Chair of the Board and President/Executive Director
Patty Gallivan, Director Community Service Advocate
Rosa Renteria, Director Center Manager, CAP OC/Southwest Community Center
Kathy Allison, Founder, Secretary / Treasurer and Programs Manager