Promising Pages' NEW Website!

This March will mark a historic time period in the history of Promising Pages. While our current website at www.promisingpages.com is far from shabby, we wanted to update our look to let our fans and supporter learn more about Promising Pages in a faster and simpler way, while being able to provide them with more information. To accomplish this goal, Promising Pages is proud to partner with an incredible individual who will be launching our brand new website on March 1^st.

Now, you may be wondering who we have working on this amazing new website. Well, I just happen to have the answer. While Erm the Worm is a good guess, our striped insect friend is an excellent reader but not too hot with web design. However, Solution Architect Keith Minder is very savvy with web design and is the perfect guy for the job of creating Promising Pages new site for many reasons.

Keith Minder was raised in the not too far away small town of Hopkins, South Carolina. He moved to Charlotte when he got a job in I.T. with Microsoft, and he now runs Twork Technology. Keith first became aware of Promising Pages at a Charlotte Metro Chamber luncheon where Kristina Cruise spoke about our Big Hairy Audacious Goal of collecting and redistributing 1 million children’s books by the end of 2012. After hearing the Promising Pages objective, Keith was immediately hooked. When asked what made him drawn to Promising Pages, his responses largely connected to his childhood.

A long time lover of books, Keith told me he was constantly reading as a kid. Keith recalls, “I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, and we didn’t have cable. I lived in a small town with dirt roads. I would go to my grandmother’s house and just lie down on the floor in front of the book shelf and spend hours getting lost in those books.” A series of books Keith remembers fondly is the Childcraft World Encyclopedias. He learned much about African American culture from those books, which he says was an essential part of his upbringing as an African American adolescent growing up in the rural South. He says, “Reading about the black condition and the history of accomplishments in the African American community was really transformative for my self-esteem as a teenager.”

Keith made some big accomplishments himself after reading Popular Science technical books. From this written knowledge, he taught himself as a child how to program a computer. A family member bought him a Tandy Color Computer 2, which he practiced programming on. He went on to win a district-wide media competition at only eleven years old! If that isn’t impressive, I don’t know what is.

Today, Keith is a father of four children and owner of a house full of books. Keith tells me, “Aside from my background, Promising Pages also caught my attention because my kids have so many books and I know they’re not going to read all of them.”

As far as the specifics of the website, Keith provided me with a few spoilers. “We’re giving it a cleaner, easier layout,” Keith says. “There is going to be a section for news stories. You’ll be able to add new book drop-off locations in the system and provide viewers driving directions. We’re also adding a ticker to the homepage to keep a total of books Promising Pages receives.” That means everyone will be able to see as we collect and count to 1 million books!

Promising Pages would like to give a huge heartfelt thank you to Keith Minder and Twork Technology. If you want to know more about the new site, keep your eyes peeled for our Facebook (http://on.fb.me/xzmPS3 and http://on.fb.me/zuQEdR ) and our Twitter (http://bit.ly/zGptil ) updates. March 1st also kicks off our "Feed the Body, Feed the Mind" campaign where Carolina HealthCare Systems will be collecting books at all 300 locations. We will use those books to stuff into food backpacks that go to kids that otherwise wouldn't have access to food over the weekend. Two beautiful partnerships, one incredible month!

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

A Night of Service with Promising Pages

Members of Christ Episcopal Church

There are many ways to spend a Friday night: catching up with friends, going out for a nice dinner, curling up with a good book for some rest and relaxation. It takes a special group of people to forgo these activities in order to give back to their community. Christ Episcopal Church did just this for their February 2^nd Dinner Family Service Night. Approximately 100 church members attended a night of dinner and volunteer work to help make care packages for mothers’ with children in the hospital and to support several Charlotte-based nonprofits. Promising Pages was one of these nonprofits, and we received many enthusiastic volunteers.

Intern Chloe Hughes and I set up stations to clean, sort and stamp children’s books donated to Promising Paged by Christ Episcopal Church. There were over 300 books donated that night, and we certainly needed a lot of help. In response, we were welcomed with open arms and busy hands.

One of our most enthusiastic helpers was a second grader named Griffin from Charlotte Latin School. Griffin excitedly ran back and forth to assist in stamping books. He was also very talkative, sharing that he loved to read and books in general. When I asked him what his favorite book was, he jumped in place, ready to stamp another book, saying, “I don’t have a favorite book, but I love adventure stories. I also like pirates a lot.” He then proceeded to sprint over to our sorting section.

Sorting books is an important part for Promising Pages as we later wrap these books to give as gifts to children who do not own books of their own. Wrapped books must be labeled according to their age group so as to match a child with his or her reading comprehension level. One of the members who helped us sort books was Per Mar Olin, a local librarian and a strong supporter of literacy, who said of Promising Pages, “It’s really great what you’re doing. Books are so important for everyone, especially children.”

We were able to end the night with all the donated books cleaned and sorted! Chloe then loaded up her car to take to a wrapping party she was hosting the next day. If you or someone you know would like to have a wrapping party or assist with Promising Pages in any way, please contact us at promisingpages@gmail.com. Promising Pages would like to give a big thanks to Christ Episcopal Church and encourage all of our readers to consider the community around you, give back, and keep the love of books alive!

More books and volunteers!

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

Big Partnership Revealed!

To all of our faithful Facebook users, thank you for your patience in our reveal of Promising Pages’ biggest, most exciting partnership yet. And…drum roll…we are proud to announce the partnering organizations are…Carolinas HealthCare Systems and Second Harvest Food Bank! SHFB donated 37 million pounds of food to needy families in our area last year. 

Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) is one of the country’s leading and most ground-breaking healthcare organizations. CHS provides a wide range of healthcare and wellness programs throughout North and South Carolina, comprised of over 600 locations, including academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare pavilions, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes and hospice and palliative care. According to their website, CHS’s core values are caring, commitment, integrity, and teamwork. Such great qualities are exactly what Promising Pages is looking for in book drive partners. But, how did this all start?

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Donated Touch-and-Feel Books

CHS leaders first heard of Promising Pages when they attended the Charlotte Chamber's Annual Retreat in Wild Dunes, South Carolina. It was here that Promising Pages announced their Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) to collect and redistribute 1 million children's books to area kids who have few, if any at home. Promising Pages is now partnering with CHS and the Second Harvest Food Bank for the “Feed the Body, Feed the Mind” Campaign. New and gently used kids books and food will be collected throughout the CHS March 1st - 20th at 300 area locations.

The “Feed the Body, Feed the Mind” Campaign will allow Promising Pages to accomplish an amazing feat that will no doubt help sharpen the minds and self images of thousands of less-fortunate children in our area. Each week, Promising Pages will stuff 1,600 of these books into food backpacks that will go out through Second Harvest Food Bank to kids in a 15 county area who have been identified as otherwise not having access to food over the weekend. When Promising Pages Director Kristina Cruise heard about the backpack mission, she immediately wanted to use her books to help. After talking with Second Harvest about the amount that would be needed to make the partnership a reality, the goal was put on hold. “I thought we could provide a couple of hundred books a week. I had no idea there were so many kids going hungry in our area over the weekend. We know that if they do not have food at home, they likely do not have their own books either. I am so thankful for CHS for making this happen for these kids. They deserve it.”

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Erma the Worma (Kristina Cruise) and CHS employees

To start our joint venture, Promising Pages attended the CHS Leadership Development Institute on Tuesday, February 12^th in the Center Grand Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center. Approximately 1,300 employees attended the event, several of whom were very eager to take a photo with Erma the Worma, wonderfully performed by our founder, Kristina Cruise.      

Valerie Rutherford and Tonnelle Miller, Human Resources Representatives, both visited the Promising Pages table. On hearing of our new partnership with CHS and what Promising Pages was all about, Valerie praised, “I really respect your enthusiasm for the community and going out there to touch a child’s life.” Tonnelle added, “Anything that makes a child smile is so important!”

Later on that morning, Flight Nurse Michael Nichols dropped by to learn more about Promising Pages. Michael was excited to hear we were collecting books: “I have a four and a six-year-old and a house full of books. I have books with the binding not even broken in.” He grew up in a household with hundreds of books as his mother is an elementary school teacher. Michael looks forward to donating books in one of the CHS drop boxes.

By the end of the event, the Promising Pages drop box had collected over 300 books! This was only one event. Imagine how many books Promising Pages can amass with over 300 CHS locations! If you would like to donate new or gently used books, please contact us at promisingpages@gmail.com. I believe Promising Pages and CHS have entered the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

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Books donated by CHS

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

Book Worms Have More Fun!

What do Chuck E’ Cheese, Christmas, and literacy have in common? Well, they capture the mission of Promising Pages in a quite quirky nutshell. Promising Pages strives to promote literacy by giving donated new and gently used books to children in the Charlotte community, many who would otherwise not have a book to call their own. Our books are wrapped by volunteers participating in our wrapping parties. Giving a wrapped book to a child is proving to be a major confidence booster. “There is a huge difference psychologically to a child between a present and a hand-me-down,” says founder Kristina Cruise. It is even more special when the present is given to a child by the Promising Pages mascot Erm/Erma (depending on the gender of the volunteer) the Book Worm or Worma. Our mascot visits at risk kids in title one classrooms, summer feeding programs and weekly at the Crisis Area Ministry. Many volunteers have suited up for the role, each with a unique experience. The following is just a small sample of the Erms and Ermas helping out for Promising Pages.

Amiee Cescon

Aimee Cescon has only had the opportunity to play Erma once, but she immensely loved the experience. A literacy specialist by profession, Cescon recalls the children being slightly reserved when she first approached them, but they soon warmed up once they understood the costume. “I feel that it is important to have a mascot to pass out books because it makes it more fun for the children. Children relate better to a non-threatening character when it comes to learning-related situations. It makes it not seem like it is school related, which is not a good association for some children who struggle in school.”

Unlike Aimee, Robin Stewart had played Erma at least half a dozen times. One of her favorite parts of playing the giant yellow and striped arthropod is the excitement she sees when she gives a child a book. “Seeing their faces light up when they get the presents is absolutely the best part, and it’s the icing on the cake to see their parents reading with them as they go.”

Robin Stewart

Teresa Pittman has a special connection to the mascot as she was the designer behind the cartoon version of Erm the Book Worm. She admits that coming up with the concept did not at all prepare her for how moving it is to see such exhilaration as she read to a group of children for the first time. “The children were so excited and I could immediately tell they would remember the experience of meeting Erma for a long time.” Teresa is also very impressed by the Belief Book. Any child who touches the Belief Book will grow up to be smart, successful and do anything they want to do in the world. “Of course, there is a catch. In order for the magic to work the child must believe in the book. Because if you believe in the book, you believe in yourself and if you believe in yourself you can do anything," says the mascot. Teresa adds, “The Belief Book is the most dynamic portion of the program. This single act connected all of the program segments to drive home the importance of reading; all while boosting eagerness and building the desire to pay the gift of reading forward.”

Monica Bremm

Another volunteer, Monica Bremm, the first female to dawn the Erma threads it's all about the magic. Think of Erma in the same regard as Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, or your favorite super hero. “Having a mascot lures them into the magic of storytelling.” When asked to give advice to other Erm and Erma volunteers, she wholeheartedly proclaims, “Relax, be silly and have fun with it! After all, it's not about you, it's about the kids.”

For those of you who consider yourself to be an introvert, playing Erm or Erma isn’t nearly as intimidating as you might imagine. Greg Goeke, the original Erm, is a prime example. According to Greg, “I’m naturally a more reserved person, introverted person so I was a little nervous going into it. But as soon as the event started, it all went away. You just go into character. To see the kids light up and smile was great. You instantly realize that playing Erm is not for yourself, but for the kids you’re trying to help. And as much as the kids enjoyed it, I feel I enjoyed it just as much as they did.”

Greg Goeke

Our newest Erma the Book Worma volunteer is Tina Honeycutt. She first heard of Promising Pages during a luncheon at a Charlotte Metro Chamber event, and she immediately wanted to play Erma. Tina has loved to read since she was a young child, and her book collection really started to grow in middle school. She majored in English in college and continues to read regularly. Her two favorite books growing up were Wrinkle in Time and Charlotte’s Web. She believes Promising Pages is important because it stresses the importance of books, which can take children to different worlds and ignite their imagination. When asked why she wanted to play Erma, she said, “I love being in character and making kids smile. It’s the actress side of me coming out. I also think it is so important to read because books can take kids to anywhere they want to go.” She recently put on the costume for a visit to the Crisis Area Ministry. It was her first, but she plans on not making it her last.

Tina Honeycutt

Promising Pages wants to continue to bring excitement and joy to children of the Charlotte community. Volunteering to play Erm or Erma is one of the best ways you can help the organization. If you or someone you know would like to play Erm or Erma the Bookworm, please contact us at promisingpages@gmail.com. An hour of your time could make a big impact in a child’s life. Plus, it’s loads of fun!


--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

Simply Lemonade

Lemonade and books—the pair may evoke memories of lazy days on the beach or a cool spring afternoon in the park. Not for Avery Salmon. Avery, a seven-year-old Promising Pages Youth Ambassador, used a small neighborhood lemonade stand/ book drive on a Saturday afternoon to give a big helping hand to Promising Pages. And it all started with a love of reading.

Avery first began to read at age three, and she continues to be an avid reader today. Her favorite books are the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. When asked why she decided to have a lemonade stand/ book drive to raise books for Promising Pages, she says her mother, Ginger Salmon, originally came up with the idea. Ginger attended a Christmas party where she learned about Promising Pages. Avery had wanted to have a lemonade stand for a long time, but adding the book drive element really made it a success. Within just one hour, they were able to collect $23 and more books than Avery had imagined: “I thought I could collect 100 books. Instead, we collected 361.” Collecting 361 books within a single hour is astounding!

Once everything was collected, Avery recalls feeling “pretty proud and really happy.” Excitingly, Avery does not plan on making this her last partnership with Promising Pages. Avery says, “I think we may have a hot chocolate stand with mini marshmallows. I think it would be great to do a Halloween one too. I would collect books rather than giving candy. We have a street party and asking for donations for that party would be pretty cool.”

For her efforts, Avery has been inducted into the Promising Pages Youth Ambassador’s Club. Check back with us to hear more about Ambassador Avery’s contributions to Promising Pages in the future. We’re sure there will be many more to come!        (For more pictures friend us on facebook! www.facebook.com/PromisingPages )

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger