he expression on a child’s face is priceless, when he or she receives their very own, personalized, oak bookcase, and a starter set of books during your ceremony. This is a time for celebration, as your community comes together to celebrate this important event in the lives of these special children. We have found the best time to hold the ceremony is on a Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., as most people have fewer conflicts at this time.

Bookcase Request & Liability Waiver

ne of your most frequently asked questions will be, how do you determine which children will receive a bookcase? There are two basic ways that will work equally well. The Head Start Director, with input from the staff, can select the children because they are in a position to know personal details and those with the greatest need. The second way is for parents or guardians to request a bookcase for their child based on a first come, first served basis. In either case, a “Bookcase Request & Liability Waiver” must be signed and kept on file at the center. You should download the following form and make as many copies as you plan to give bookcases as this will provide protection from liability and more importantly to insure parents will attend the Awards Ceremony to take their child’s bookcase home with them following the ceremony.

Bookcase request & liability waiver form. Download enough copies for each child and have parent/guardian sign

few weeks before the ceremony a few members of your committee should take books that have been sorted by reading levels and gender appeal, and place them in a box or sack and have them ready to go in the bookcases the day of the ceremony. We line our bookcases up alphabetically to be viewed at the ceremony as this makes them easier for parents and children to locate when they are ready to take them home. Unfortunately, you will not be able to present a bookcase to each individual child because of the time factor.  

hen we started our project in 2005, we had a Book Drive, supported by our local newspaper, and in three months our citizens donated over 6,000 volumes. Initially, we stored these books at the church where we build our bookcases but later moved them to the Faulkner County Public Library, where we now hold our ceremony. Since we only work with pre-school children, we collected many books that were too advanced in reading levels for our young children.

ince we did not want these books sitting there collecting dust, we asked members of the Faulkner County Retired Teachers Association, who have adopted our project, to sort the books, according to reading levels. As a result, we were able to give over 3,000 volumes to our Boy’s and Girl’s Club to be used by older children. This is to say, there is a need for every good children’s book you receive.

hen you hold your fund-raising banquet, is an excellent time to ask those who attend to donate good gently used children’s books. We promoted this idea in the newspaper and received several hundred books in good condition. One couple, Mike and Julie Bethea, had a pre-school teacher daughter who was killed in a tragic auto accident, and they bought over 600 books in her memory. Many of these came from Mike and Julie’s daughter’s fellow teachers. Many people in every community would welcome the opportunity to give children’s books in honor or memory of someone special to them.

our local Head Start Program Coordinator will provide you a list of children’s names who will receive personalized bookcases. A few weeks before the ceremony a few members of your committee should take books that have been sorted by reading levels and place them in a box or sack and have them ready to go in the bookcases the day of the ceremony. We line our bookcases up alphabetically to be viewed at the ceremony as this makes them easier for parents and children to locate when they are ready to take them home. Unfortunately, you will not be able to present a bookcase to each individual child because of the time factor.

Who Will Handle the Details?

Shown here are members of the Conway Bookcase Project Committee making plans for the Annual Awards Ceremony

o have a successful Awards Ceremony, you will need the help of everyone on your bookcase project committee. This is a critical point. It is vital that your leader, or other designated member, be a detail person who will stay on top of things, to insure they get done in a timely manner. Several months in advance, with the consensus of your committee members, you will need to set the date, time and location and then develop a timeline of events to give you a track to run on. We highly recommend creating a checklist to make sure no item is overlooked.

our leader should have, or develop, a relationship with a printer or local copy shop that can help to print invitations, programs and other materials that may be needed for the ceremony. At this point, you have money in the bank from your “Bookcase Literacy Banquet” and members of your committee who are authorized to write checks and pay bills. Over the course of several weeks, other matters will arise where decisions must be made and your detail person can handle most of these. If you want feedback, just e-mail your committee members on your group e-mail list.

Secure a Great Location

ne of the first things you will need to do is secure a meeting place to hold your Annual Awards Ceremony, one that is centrally located and has adequate parking. Depending on the size of your community, you will need a room that will accommodate up to 300 people, which will include from 80 to 100 parents and children. Here in Conway, we have found a permanent home at our large Faulkner County Public Library. Since this is a community project, take special care to select a place where there is no cost involved and everyone will feel comfortable attending. You might wish to serve light refreshments after the ceremony, but be sure to check with your hosts to see if they have a policy regarding food and drink in the building.

Faulkner County Head Librarian, Ruth Voss, is a member of our central committee and a perfect hostess for our Awards Ceremony	The Faulkner County Public Library is a perfect venue to hold our Annual Awards Ceremony

Determine Program Participants

s you plan your ceremony, keep in mind that many of your parents and children in low-income families have never been to a ceremony like the one you are planning. Your goal should be to honor these parents and children and make them feel special. Many low-income parents already feel that life is unfair and you can change their perspective as perhaps nothing has ever done before. In addition to several members of your committee being on the program, you will need to invite a well-known keynote speaker who has a passion for literacy. You can also invite your mayor, county judge, senator, representative or other public official give a welcome, along with local pastors, to give the invocation and benediction.

ust remember the attention span of these little folks is short so ask your speakers to keep their remarks brief. The total time for the formal program should be no more than 30-40 minutes. We think that having the JROTC Unit from our High School present the colors added a special touch this past year. The year before we had the Boy Scouts perform this flag presentation. We have included a copy of our printed program, along with other items, as a link that will give you some ideas. Don’t hesitate to make your own program original, but just be sure to make it special and always in good taste.

Those who attend our Annual Awards Ceremony receive a printed program showing program participants, committee members, names of children receiving bookcases and our mission statement

Invite Everyone to Attend

s you plan your Awards Ceremony, there are many people who have been involved in your project, over the past few months, and later years, who you will want to make sure, are invited. This list would include your central committee members, bookcase craftsmen, reading volunteers and those who contributed ‘gently used’ books. There are also dignitaries in your community who you will want to invite, including your mayor, city council members, college president and faculty, school superintendent, retired teachers and even state officials who are interested in your project. Since illiteracy affects everyone, the general public should also be invited and strongly encouraged to attend.

hile it will take a little time and a small investment to print and mail formal invitations, this will be money and time well spent. Almost from the beginning, to have a successful bookcase project, you must begin the process of building support and goodwill for your mission, to improve literacy among children in low-income families. In the beginning we began to compile a list of key people all across the community. Even though most did not attend our ceremony, the seeds of goodwill and professionalism were planted that are now coming up and producing fruit. We have included a link that shows a copy of our printed invitation.

In addition to newspaper and television publicity, invitations should be sent to selected high profile members of your community.	This is a copy of a printed invitation that is less expensive than the panel card and matching envelope, but will accomplish the same thing

The Importance of Publicity

Good publicity is important for the success of your project. Here our chairman is seen conducting a television interview

t cannot be over-emphasized that your local newspaper will be very helpful in promoting the Awards Ceremony. An article should run the week before your event giving the date, location, time, and purpose of your ceremony. The newspaper should also have a reporter present who will do a follow-up story, with photos, and possibly interview some of the program participants. The Awards Ceremony is a great time to invite television stations in your area to cover the event and report it on their newscasts. We have had news coverage from all three Little Rock stations -- 30 miles away -- in the past. We also have a very supportive local cable provider that does local programming and they have filmed each of our four previous ceremonies and our “Bookcase Literacy Banquet” program, and later played them a number of times on the cable.

hile this was a couple of years down the road, we designed and purchased a full-color, 3 ft. X 10 ft., banner that is hung at the site of Awards Ceremony with the project title visible for all to see. We also have a 14 inch seal with our logo that is affixed to the front of the podium that is picked up by the television cameras that cover the event. To reinforce what has already been stated, make sure these items do not contain any logo or markings that would identify your bookcase project, as city government, civic club, church, or any commercial project. This is a community project as we all stand to benefit from improved literacy.

This 14 inch Logo Seal is affixed to the front of the speaker’s podium and picked up by the television cameras that cover our ceremony

Bookcases Taken Home After Ceremony

t may be obvious, but there is some physical work involved in building the bookcase, affixing the name plates, and transporting them to the site of the ceremony. Basically, this work is done by the craftsmen and they are more than happy to be of service. After the ceremony the best way to get the bookcases delivered to the homes of the children, is for the parents to take them when they leave. This is the reason it is important for Head Start people to work closely with parents, whose children are chosen to receive a bookcase, to get them to attend the ceremony.

his is not only beneficial for the children, but also for your committee members who are responsible for this part of the project. Some Head Start programs have parents sign a form saying they would like for their child to receive a bookcase and will make a commitment to attend the Awards Ceremony. This is the ideal situation. You might ask members of a Boy Scout Troop or other group in your community to be on hand to assist parents in loading the bookcases in their vehicle.
A simple “Thank You” goes a long way

t is just common courtesy, and really a sign that our education worked, to send “Thank You” notes of appreciation, to those who contributed to the success of your Awards Ceremony. The goodwill and respect of your local citizens, and especially those in positions of authority, will make your project even more successful in the years to come. What we are collectively striving to accomplish is for the children in each community, who are being reared in low-income families, to grow up to be good law-abiding and successful citizens.

e want them to become the kind of people who, later in life, will make good next door neighbors, great employees, members of civic clubs, churches and other worthwhile causes in communities all across this great land. If you have read the information in this Website very carefully, we believe you will agree that what we have started here can make a real difference for generations to come. The people who work hard and succeed are usually grateful for the opportunities that others have provided for them, and will also look for ways to “Give Back.” This is the spirit that has made America the greatest nation on earth.

Here, personalized bookcases are headed to homes of low-income children

A simple “Thank You” goes a long way

t is just common courtesy, and really a sign that our education worked, to send “Thank You” notes of appreciation, to those who contributed to the success of your Awards Ceremony. The goodwill and respect of your local citizens, and especially those in positions of authority, will make your project even more successful in the years to come. What we are collectively striving to accomplish is for the children in each community, who are being reared in low-income families, to grow up to be good law-abiding and successful citizens.

e want them to become the kind of people who, later in life, will make good next door neighbors, great employees, members of civic clubs, churches and other worthwhile causes in communities all across this great land. If you have read the information in this Website very carefully, we believe you will agree that what we have started here can make a real difference for generations to come. The people who work hard and succeed are usually grateful for the opportunities that others have provided for them, and will also look for ways to “Give Back.” This is the spirit that has made America the greatest nation on earth.

A Certificate of Appreciation costs so little but means so much to the people you honor in this way