Two years ago today I was nervous wreck. May 2, 2011 marks the day when Promising Pages officially hit the Charlotte scene with the launch of "Books and Basics," a dual school supply and book drive in conjunction with Classroom Central. Our small team had spent the previous couple of months programming and planning while I had spent the previous several years dreaming of the then unnamed concept when suddenly, and not a moment too soon, Promising Pages became real and open to the Charlotte public.
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| Original "Books and Basics" Flyer |
The momentum over the past 24 months has been nothing short of a amazing to watch and incredible to be a part of. Books and Basics not only collected a then astounding 5,000+ books thanks to the 50 businesses that partnered with our fledgling mission, but May brought us even larger accolades including the birth of our Erma the Book Worma mascot, our Signature Magic Book Party, and a Charlotte Observer
article that to this day keeps me going when the going gets tough.
If you would have told this reporter 10 years ago I would become an early literacy advocate swimming in endless second-hand books at a donated South End warehouse, pioneering a smaller-than-needed staff of volunteers and interns on a shoe string budget with a baby strapped to my hip I would have laughed...and probably cried! But nothing, nothing has brought me more joy and translated to more fundamental change than what this grassroots organization offers to the community, and hopefully one day the world.
I've always been up front about the fact that I was never literary nut growing up. I had my ordinary shelf full books at the end of the childhood hallway that I mostly took for granted, and I somehow made it though AP english in high school. The truth is, I don't really care all that much about the books themselves. What I care about is the kids who get them and the profound impact these books have on their lives and their subsequent futures. These seemingly ordinary pages in conjunction with our programs are making such a quantifiable differences in their lives that I would have been a fool not to become a born-again book lover. Every book that we get donated to us is filled with love from the donor who previously owned it and filled with hope for the child who will soon receive it as a special present. Our books and book parties are bridging brain synapses and building self esteem in ways we can't even begin to know right now. And what we do and the way we do it is being done nowhere else in the country. This world needs Promising Pages and I am here to give it to them to the best of my ability.
These past two years have flown by and I am so grateful for the many wonderful people and organizations that have supported us and helped us become so successful despite the odds. I officially launched my first baby in May of 2011 and within a month I would find out I was pregnant with my second baby, which would be my first human baby. How's that for timing? That beautiful boy is now 14 months old and has handled more books than most kindergarteners. Promising Pages is my gift to him. My service and my sacrifice is my gift to him. I want him to grow up knowing how smart and capable he is and how much power he has to change the world in what ever way he is destined to. I want him to know that service is the rent we pay for living and something we MAKE time for. We are far more capable than we currently believe. We all have something deep inside of us that is the reason why we are here on this earth. I only hope my example with Promising Pages helps him find his own calling in life.
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| My Son and Husband last Summer |
It's time for this toddler of an organization to act like my son and start taking some major steps forward. This means big funding and corporate partnerships so we can stand on our own two feet and effect
major change in the lives of more kids before they turn down a dark path.
In the next couple of weeks a major foundation will announce myself and Promising Pages as the award recipient of an honor that is so big it still sounds only like a dream when I say it in my head. In two weeks we will bring our first part- time staffer on board and will soon be spending the summer with 40+ amazing high school
interns, a program that landed us the cover of Society Charlotte Magazine in 2012. We will continue to process tens of thousands of donated books through our warehouse and look forward to our future Magic Book Mobile and corporate title sponsor for our
One Million Books Revolution. This summer we will announce our first international chapter of Promising Pages which is already in the works. There is no shortage of momentum in this organization that is much much bigger than you or I can even conceive right now. I am just a mother a wife and a journalist who grew up tin Florida and shockingly made it though adolescense. I take no credit for this organization beyond the fact that I listen to my inner voice, and execute, as well as try to maintain a positive attitude and a disciplined, forward-thinking imagination. For the honor to be of such great service, I am blessed.
Happy 2nd Birthday Promising Pages!
Kids Matter,
Kristina Cruise
Founder, Promising Pages
This past Tuesday Promising Pages had the opportunity to partner with our sweet friends at Rama Road Elementary for another Book Party full of surprises (no Boas this time around!). We have had the privilege of working with these students at Rama since the beginning of Fall 2012 and they have become dear to our hearts as they gradually built up their personal libraries with each month's Follow Up Book Party. 
For the last Book Party of the semester, students were allowed to "shop" for their final selection of books through the 400+ paperbacks, chapter books, and wrapped "surprise" books" laid out on their cafeteria tables. As they found their favorites, Erma and Ermina got to check in with students, make sure they've been reading, and wish them a happy summer. 
