Brandon Keefe had a case of the sniffles. His mother, Robin, did not want to leave him at home alone, and she couldn't stay home with him because of a meeting she needed to attend. So she brought him along with her to the residential treatment center for abused and neglected children in Los Angeles, where she worked.

Once they arrived at his mom's meeting, Brandon quietly sat in a corner and played his hand-held videogame. Meanwhile, the adults gathered around a table and talked about ways to create a new library for their group home. None existed. With limited resources and more important priorities, the home's board of directors decided a library was not possible in their immediate future.

Brandon did not look up from his video game once during the meeting, but he heard everything the grown-ups said. So the next day at school when his third-grade teacher asked the class if anyone knew of a valuable community service project they could perform, Brandon thrust his arm in the air. "My mom's orphanage needs books," he exclaimed.

Other students looked at Brandon with puzzled expression on their faces. "Everybody has books on their shelves that they've outgrown," Brandon said. "Why not give the ones we've already read to kids who need them?"

Over the next few months, Brandon organized a school-wide book drive at his elementary school that garnered 847 new and slightly used books, including biographies, fairy tales, picture books, and even books from best-selling series like Goosebumps and Nancy Drew.

On the last day before winter vacation, Brandon stood on the school's curbside with dozens of boxes of books surrounding him. When Robin arrived to pick him up, Brandon raised a box of books and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mom," he said.

Brandon's mother put a hand to her mouth, but no words could come out. She'd had no idea that Brandon had even been listening at that meeting, several weeks earlier. Tears welled up in her eyes. "That was one of the best days of my life," she says.

Increasing Book Access

Too many schools, daycare centers, group homes, and after-school programs lack sufficient reading materials. This is particularly alarming, because research tells us that poor access to books produces poor readers. Krashen (1993) quotes the adage that "you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink," but, he points out, that "we must make sure the water is there" (p. 33). That being said, it follows that in order to get students to read more, one of the first steps is to ensure that students have something to read. Elementary schools play a critical role in providing access to reading materials. Cunningham and Stanovich (1988) argue that students who are exposed to reading at a younger age are more likely to make reading a lifetime habit, which, in turn, improves students' reading abilities.

A number of recent studies (e.g., Allington & McGill-Franzen, 1993; Brassell, 2000; Neuman, 1999; Purcell-Gates, McIntyre, & Freepon, 1995) have found that increased book access positively affects students' reading habits. One of the best places to promote book access is in the classroom. Palmer, Codling, and Gambrell (1994) found that when asked where they obtain the majority of the books they read, third and fifth graders in the study overwhelmingly reported that they relied on their classroom libraries. In effect, the greater access students have to reading materials, the more they will read (McQuillan, 1998).

Student-to-Student Solutions for Literacy

Brandon could have just donated his own used books to the group home, but he took his vision a step further and enlisted his fellow classmates in a community service project. His classmates, in turn, sought assistance from their parents, churches, temples, clubs, and other organizations to find the books, shelves, and other materials needed to create a well-stocked library.

Inspired by Brandon's enthusiasm, Robin thought that students from other schools could design similar projects. After all, she reasoned, most people hesitate to throw a book in the trash, and there must be a way to help teachers whose library shelves were barren or nonexistent. So mother and son created BookEnds to combat their community's lack of books for its children.

BookEnds is a simple program that works. It is a grassroots nonprofit organization that collects books for schools and youth organizations that either do not have operating libraries or have libraries that are so depleted that they cannot adequately provide all of their children with books to read. Student volunteers in schools and community organizations collect books that are in good condition. As a result, BookEnds fulfills two functions:

1. it introduces students to the value of community service, and

2. it provides increased book caches to children in under-resourced facilities.

Student volunteers from donor agencies collect, sort, and deliver books to qualified recipient organizations. BookEnds then links literacy organizations, children's book publishers, service organizations, and the corporate community to donate resources to the developing libraries. Overseen by student volunteers and their schools and service organizations, BookEnds' book drives gather thousands of quality new and used books for under-resourced schools and children's groups.

Not only does BookEnds provide increased access to books, it also it also shows children firsthand the rewards of community involvement. For example, student volunteers from the recipient organizations develop projects that benefit student volunteers from donor agencies. Examples of past projects recipient organization student volunteers have coordinated include pen pal programs, drill team instruction, and campus beautification efforts. In this way BookEnds makes no distinction between the haves and the have-nots. All student volunteers, whether they represent a donor agency or recipient organization, contribute to the improvement of their community.

It Takes a Child

Since 1993, BookEnds has enhanced literacy opportunities for scores of Los Angeles-area school children and their families through the development of over 120 libraries within schools and youth organizations. BookEnds has donated more than 450,000 books to these programs and enlisted nearly 230,000 student volunteers among donor agencies and recipient organizations.

Today, at age 17, Brandon continues to act as a critical catalyst in the development of BookEnds. He speaks at student assemblies and at student service organizations about the importance of increasing student access to books and of participation in community service activities. Speaking peer to peer, he motivates students to take on the challenge of organizing book drives in their communities, which increases community awareness about the need for well-resourced learning facilities.

Currently in the process of choosing a college, Brandon wants to continue his efforts after he graduates from high school. The main point he makes to students is that small things done by lots of people can make a difference, and adults are not the only ones who can positively affect their communities.

"I just wanted to help out," he says to a class of fifth graders. "Everyone can make a difference, if they do what they believe is right."

How to Get Involved

For more information about how to get involved or contribute to BookEnds, check out the website at or call (818) 716-1198. BookEnds is a 501c3 non-profit agency, and all donations are tax deductible.

References

Allington, R.L., & McGill-Franzen, A. (1993, October 13). What are they to read? Not all children, Mr. Riley, have easy access to books. Education Week, p. 26.
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Brassell, D. (2000). Creating a culturally-sensitive classroom library. In T. Rasinski, et. al. (Eds.), Motivating recreational reading and promoting home-school connections. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
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Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (1998). What reading does for the mind. American Educator, (Spring/Summer), 8-15.
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Krashen, S.D. (1993). The power of reading. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
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McQuillan, J. (1998). The literacy crisis: False claims and real solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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Neuman, S.B. (1999). Books make a difference: A study of access to literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(3), 286-311. Available: http://www.catchword.com/ira/00340553/v34n3/contp1-1.htm
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Palmer, B.M., Codling, R.M., & Gambrell, L.B. (1994). In their own words: What elementary students have to say about motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 48, 176-178.
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Purcell-Gates, V., McIntyre, E., & Freepon, P.A. (1995). Learning written storybook language in school: A comparison of low-SES children in skills-based and whole language classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 659-685.
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About the Author

Danny Brassell is an assistant professor in the Teacher Education Department at California State University - Dominguez Hills. He also serves as chairperson of the Board of Directors for BookEnds. Danny can be reached at dbrassel@yahoo.com.

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Citation: Brassell, D. (2003, May). BookEnds: Student-to-student solutions for literacy. Reading Online, 6(9). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/brassell/index.html

Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted May 2003
© 2003 International Reading Association, Inc.   ISSN 1096-1232