Reading revolution inspires youth by

(Reprinted with permission from Society Magazine)

There are steps to finding magic in the pages of books. A volunteer hands a child a book and that child tears off the wrapping paper concealing it. The child touches the book and is told that, just by doing this, she will grow up to be smart, successful and capable of doing anything she wants to do in the world. And all she has to do to keep the book activated, to keep the magic swirling through her life is to read for 10 minutes each day.

It only takes 45 minutes to go through this process in local, elementary-school classrooms during Magic Book Parties hosted by the volunteers of Promising Pages. The nonprofit was founded by Kristina Cruise of Charlotte during the spring of 2011, and every party is infused with the encouragement of mascot Erma the Bookworma as the children learn to activate their books. A couple of weeks later, those students enjoy follow-up parties with Erma’s cousin, Erm the Bookworm, as they choose from a collection of additional donated books to build up their shelves at home.

“If they believe in the book then they believe in themselves,” Cruise said. “They can do anything. Kids go crazy over this concept.”

Focus on helping youth

          Just a few years earlier, Cruise started to believe she could do something, too. Her journalism career had taken her to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she worked as a reporter for an NBC affiliate. And her work had taken her to a sidewalk outside of a food bank, where a line of shivering people wrapped around several blocks of city streets. They were waiting for food that was in short supply, and Cruise’s job was to raise awareness through her writing about the condition of these people and their hours in the cold.

            Despite the swarm, Cruise said, “This girl caught my eye.” She looked to be about three years old, full of sweetness and full of sorrow as she stood next to her mother. Cruise thought, “What a terrible combination. Because I would wish someone who was that adorable would have joy and be smiling and have a light in her eyes. Instead it was this dark, dull desolation on her face. I just wanted to do something to cheer her up.”

            Cruise rummaged through the items she carried with her, hoping to find some sort of gift for the girl inside. But her face stayed in Cruise’s thoughts: “I just couldn’t get her out of my mind.”
            A couple of days later, Cruise listened to a radio program about the brain scans of a toddler of girls that age. The host spoke about a large-scale study that revealed a correlation between children’s brain function and access to books. Brain scans that lit up in all the appropriate areas were connected to toddlers who had access to books at home. But those that did not light up for certain spaces of the brain were connected to toddlers who did not have ample access to books at home.
            Cruise approached the issue of how to bring the necessary light to such children’s lives. She started to talk to teachers in local public schools, many of whom had students who never set hands on a book before arriving for their first day of school. She thought, “We can change this. Kids outgrow their books the way that they outgrow their shoes.”

Magic of youth helpers

          The idea that kids with books at home wear out only their favorites angled Cruise’s ambition. She wanted to revolutionize the concept of book drives and two years after moving to Charlotte she started to make it happen. May of 2011 brought about her book drive called Books and Basics with Classroom Central. She and other volunteers gathered about 5,000 books and school supplies.
            Then, in December, her nascent organization Promising Pages moved into its current warehouse, a surprise donation from David Longo of Carolina Business Interiors. “That’s the best thing that ever happened to Promising Pages,” Cruise said. “I would not be where I am today and the kids that we serve would not be where they are today if it weren’t for David Longo and his generosity.”
            Between January and October 2012, 40,000 books flooded into the warehouse to be distributed to area children. And between June and August, 22 young interns arrived to help Cruise and her two weekly volunteers, Linda Bonerba and Patricia Ozmeral, manage the workflow.
            Promising Pages unfolded a summer intern program after its coordinators called every possible high school in the area. They whittled down the applicant pool to select well-qualified high-schoolers to contribute to Magic Book Parties, wrapping parties and other events throughout the community, as well as warehouse maintenance and organization.
            Cruise said, “They dedicated over 1,777 man hours, they ran over 55 events in the community, they organized the warehouse, they distributed over 7,000 books and they collected over 6,000 books themselves.”

Same goals greater strides

          The piles of pages have yet to stop accumulating, as Promising Pages is launching its One Million Books Revolution. “Our goal is to collect and redistribute one million books because that’s how many books that we feel that we need to give all children in Charlotte a bookshelf full of books at home,” Cruise said.

            As one kickstarter for the revolution and as part of the one-year anniversary of the unveiling of the warehouse, Promising Pages will host a fundraiser in its warehouse at Carolina Business Interiors on December 1 and 2 that is open to the public. “One of the other things we’re doing at the book sale,” Cruise said, “which I’m so excited about, is that we had these bags printed, and they’re all Magic Reading Totes.”

            These signature items are designed to get children excited about reading by transforming ordinary books into Magic Books. The totes have the same effect as the wrapped books at the Magic Book Parties, only they can reach outside of the classroom of undeserved children.
            A parent can buy a tote - containing a special activation bookmark – for his or her child. The child will then learn to place the bookmark in the book, place both in the tote, and pull the book out three minutes later to read when the magic is at its best. If the child does this every day, he or she is said to be capable of anything.
            The magic reading Totes will make their way into the community and bring a greater immediacy to the reading endeavors of the children who hold them. Cruise said, “Then the magic in the book really shines through.”