Promising Pages on HLN!

Look for our interview with HLN! We were featured on Evening Express’ “Do Good” segment.

Founder Kristina Cruise spoke with Isha Sesay about all the work we’ve done in Charlotte, our Magic Book Parties, and how essential and easy it is for Promising Pages’ plan to be recreated in communities all across the country. Our mission is so important for kids who just don’t have the books that build good readers and strong, successful students, so we hope you’ll consider sending this video to your friends and family, spreading the word so that together we can see chapters of Promising Pages springing up all along the country.

The video, courtesy of HLN: http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/06/29/promising-pages-used-books-new-home

Magic Book Party Updates!

 

We’ve had so many amazing book parties over the past couple months that we’ve been too busy to write about each of them individually. We’d like to thank everyone who’s come out to help and give a great big shout-out to our friends at Billingsville, Thomasboro, and Highland Renaissance Elementary schools, as well as all the people we’ve met along the way. We’ve given out hundreds of books in the past couple months, but thanks to our awesome donors, we still have a whole warehouse full, with so many left to sort. Keep them coming! Remember, Magic Book Drop Locations are:

Earth Fare Ballantyne

12235 N. Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277
phone: 704-926-1201
hours: 8am- 9pm

Healthy Home Market

2700 South Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28209
phone: 704.522.8213
hours: Mon - Sat: 8 am - 8 pm Sun 11 am - 6 pm

Mountain Island Chiropractic

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101
Charlotte, NC 28214
phone: 704.394.8556
hours: M - F 8 am - 5 pm

Mountain Island Fitness

10030 Callabridge Court
Charlotte, NC 28216
phone: 704.394.9500
hours: Mon-Thur: 5am-9pm Fri: 5am-7:30p Sat: 8am-3pm Sun: 10am-3pm

Sauceman's

228 West Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28203
phone: 704.333.7070
hours: Monday through Saturday: 11am to 9pm

Sports & Fitness- Northlake

8626 Hankins Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28269
phone: 704.596.9009
hours: Mon - Thurs: 5AM - 10PM Friday: 5AM - 8PM Saturday: 8AM - 5PM Sunday: 10AM - 5PM

Sports & Fitness- Northlake

8626 Hankins Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28269
phone: 704.596.9009
hours: Mon - Thurs: 5AM - 10PM Friday: 5AM - 8PM Saturday: 8AM - 5PM Sunday: 10AM - 5PM

The Last Word

230 East W.T. Harris Blvd Suite B11
Charlotte, NC 28262
phone: 704.966.9673
hours: Monday - Thursday 10AM - 9PM Friday - Saturday 10AM - 10PM Sunday 12PM - 6PM

Twork Technology, Inc.

3536 N. Davidson St
Charlotte, NC 28205
phone: 704.575.4562
hours: M - F 8 am - 6 pm

If you’d like to organize a fundraiser or host w Magic Book Wrapping Party, remember to contact us at info@promisingpages.com

New 200 Book Club Members!

Promising Pages knows that its biggest heroes and most important members are the people who collect books for us, through drives, at drop-off locations, by cleaning out their garage, or any of the hundred other crazy ways our amazing donors find them. Our two newest 200 Book Club Members, Kaitlin (7) and Madison (9), went (with the permission and supervision of their parents) through their neighborhood and asked for books that people just didn’t use anymore and collected over 400 books in just five short weeks. 

Kaitlin and Madison both enjoy reading; it’s Kaitlin’s favorite school subject, and at times their mother has to prompt them to stop reading so that other things can get done. Madison’s favorite subject is math, but her favorite book is All About Rabbits. Both girls say they read almost every day and love to partner-read with one another, a great technique to improve their own reading skills and bonding over a fun but educational activity.

Kaitlin’s favorite books are Tangled and Brave. It’s great when young girls gravitate towards books with strong, independent female leads, and the confidence of Merida definitely has begun to bud in Kaitlin, who said she’s read the book twelve times already. 

Madison loves the color pink and was super-excited about how many books she and her sister could raise for Promising Pages with just the help of her parents and generosity of her neighbors. As she goes into the 4^th grade, Madison is already showing great compassion and leadership skills, and a sense of altruism that we find truly inspiring. She also has a great sense of humor and wanted us to relay her favorite joke: why did the lion cross the road? To get to the other pride.

Madison and Kaitlin demonstrate what Promising Pages is all about: small actions with huge impacts and a focus on community, family, and education. We’re happy to welcome them to the special family of our 200 Book Club and expect that we’ll be talking about them and their amazing book drives again very soon!

Remember that you can organize a book drive for Promising Pages on your own! If you're interested, just let us know at promisingpages@gmail.com. We also have wrapping parties for getting books ready and tons of other awesome ways you can help just like Kaitlin and Madison did!

Good Times at Greenway Park

The kids do something like a wave when Wilson tells them the good news: spreading out from the center of the flock, the kids of Greenway Park Elementary leap to their feet and at the news that Promising Pages has a present, a book for each of them just days before summer vacation. It might be the most important gift during the entire span of their elementary education, or perhaps all of their education. It’s a book for themselves, that they can treasure and read over and over again, helping keep their young minds active and exploring stories and words until August comes around.

The Magic Book Party at Greenway Park Elementary was the largest event in Promising Pages history, serving approximately 600 kids, grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Because of the size, we divided the school and held two Magic Book Parties, one for first, second, and third grade, and another for kindergarten, fourth, and fifth grades. Intern Mitchell Sharp had the privilege of playing Erm the Bookworm for the second Magic Book Party, his first time doing so. Excited about the opportunity, he noted how excited the kids were, how well-behaved they acted, and how enthusiastic the teachers and other volunteers, from St. Stevens United Methodist Church, were to participate. Kids danced as they waited for their books, compared their gifts to one another, read their new presents, and looked up to Erm with a crowd of smiles, all their white teeth shining like flashbulbs, their energy barely contained, some practically bursting with wanting to cartwheel across the floor in excitement. 

It’s exciting for all of us to see kids more excited for books than summer vacation. At Promising Pages, we try to make every book special for every kid, because it really is their magic book, the book that might bring them back to being interested in reading and changing the entire course of their education. One little girl was given a book on her favorite subject: unicorns. From the excitement she showed, the smile that spread across her face and took it over, we know she will take that book home to her parents, or brothers and sisters, or aunts and uncles. She’ll want to read it to them, have it read to her, cherish it and use it to improve her reading. And lots of students from Greenway Park will have the same experience, the same desire and enthusiasm.

Donating six hundred books is a lot, and Promising Pages wants to thank all of our donors and supporters. Without your help, this party would have never been able to happen, and the kids of Greenway Park would never have been able to get their presents. With your support, we’ve been able to do so much, and will be able to do so much more. We’d also like to thank Fox News Rising and Wilson for coming out and hyping up the crowd and covering our event, and the volunteers from St. Stevens United Methodist Church. But most of all, we’d like to thank the kids of Greenway Park Elementary for letting us have such an awesome time and share the magic of their Magic Book Party.

Wilson's World Video and Article 

Fox Charlotte Rising

On the Death of Ray Bradbury

Everyone at Promising Pages has books they love, that they’ve read a dozen times or more. And unfortunately, we all have that book that we’ve been meaning to read, that we see at the bookstore when we’re only there to get something else, because we have somewhere to be, something so unimportant to do that it can’t wait. We always have a million other things to read. For me, Fahrenheit 451 was that book, that book I somehow never finished. Ray Bradbury was a giant in literature and science fiction, and we owe so much to his works. They really seem prescient at times, haunting at others, and always beautiful in their style.

Born in 1920, Bradbury received a Pulitzer citation for “his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy” and published stories for seventy years, selling his first story in his early 20s, winning a coveted O. Henry Award and making him one of the most recognizable science fiction authors ever. Publishing prolifically, his work sought to reconcile the modern world with our past and our inevitable future and a way to change things for the better, no matter how dark or bleak it may look.

There’s no better way to pay homage to Ray Bradbury than through his own words, so below are a collection of quotes, pulled from various sources and books, that we hope inspire you to live and dream as big as one of the biggest science fiction authors who will ever live: 

“If you can’t read and write you can’t think. Your thoughts are dispersed if you don’t know how to read and write. You’ve got to be able to look at your thoughts on paper and discover what a fool you were.” (Salon.com)

“And when he died, I suddenly realized I wasn’t crying for him at all, but for the things he did. I cried because he would never do them again, […] He was an individual. He was an important man. I’ve never gotten over his death. […] How many jokes are missing from the world, and how many homing pigeons untouched by his hands? He shaped the world. He did things to the world. The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on.” (Fahrenheit 451)

He did things to the world. The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on. Goodbye, Ray Bradbury. We’ll miss you.

Like Son Like Father

Ed Rosenblatt, inaugural Chairman of the Board of Directors

Junior Ambassador Tate Rosenblatt, an avid reader, involved himself with Promising Pages at the encouragement of his father, who told him that his love of books could be his vehicle to making a difference in the world. Now, Promising Pages is proud to welcome Ed Rosenblatt as Chair to the inaugural Board of Directors. He plans to begin his term by “creating the infrastructure necessary so that all those that are committed to our vision are able to succeed,” and has high praise for both our founders and other board members. 

With Promising Pages in the midst of our One Million Books campaign, strong leadership and creative ideas are essential. We’re continuing to grow and appointing our first Chairman to the Board of Directors is a major step in our process. We’re happy to include another member of the Rosenblatt family because, at the heart of it, Promising Pages is as much about family as it is about reading: parents who help their kids learn to read and encourage them to read as much as possible are helping to provide them with a lifelong skill set, one that Tate calls, “the most important skill you can have.” As the Rosenblatt family demonstrates, it’s important that we encourage a life-long love of reading to our family and the Charlotte community.

Ed says one of his favorite books as a child was The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger’s classic. Joining Promising Pages will allow him a similar mission as Holden Caulfield’s titular dream, grabbing the kids running through the rye before they plunge off the cliff, living their lives below their potential because of a lack of books. Because of the support of Ed and Tate, and all of our volunteers, we can raise up the estimated 60,000 kids in Charlotte who do not have any books of their own. Ed promises to bring the same fervor to his role as Tate has to his junior ambassador role, in which he helped his school, Charlotte Preparatory, collect 4,180 books, a Promising Pages school-drive record. Founder Kristina Cruise says Ed “embodies all the qualities that a good board member and good citizen should have: he is sharp, professional, and kind; he cares deeply about his community. He’s the kind of guy you are proud to be associated with and the kind of leader you aim to be.”

Ed Rosenblatt, an attorney, is a member of McGuireWoods’ Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations Department and co-chair of the Broker-Dealers & Investment Advisers Industry Team. His law practice focuses on government enforcement, internal investigations, securities and banking regulation and compliance matters. Prior to joining the firm, Ed held senior positions with Wells Fargo & Co. (and its predecessor Wachovia Corp.,). He grew up in Baltimore, MD and later moved to Washington D.C for 14 years; he has been a resident of Charlotte for the past 7 years. He is happily married with two boys, Tate (12) and Parker (9).

Business Leaders of Charlotte Charity Golf Tournament

'Houston, we have funding.' The 8th annual Business Leaders of Charlotte (BLOC) Golf Tournament at the Ballantyne Hotel may not have paralleled the importance of a space mission, but to Promising Pages Founder Kristina Cruise, that's exactly what it felt like. “This is our first opportunity for major funding and will give us a sizable operating budget for the first time in our existence.” Promising Pages came onto the Charlotte non-profit scene 1 year ago this May. Pages' total budget up to this point? A mere $3,000 thanks to a grant from Hands on Charlotte and a donation from Carolina Business Interiors, among others. "This tournament and the generous funding just make it all feel so real," said Cruise as she thanked the participants during a delicious spanish flair dinner provided by Chef Rodolfo from El Molino bakery and catering (rodolfomontero@yahoo.com).  

BLOC was founded in 2001 and has a network of several hundred members. According to their website, “BLOC is an organization dedicated to helping our members grow through business networking opportunities, support for professional development efforts and providing an avenue for members and local businesses to get “plugged into” the community through our various outreach programs and partnerships.” This golf tournament is one of their main outreach programs.

Scott Donaghy lines up to take a shot while
James Anderson and the rest of his foursome look on.  

This year there were 13 non-profits who applied for this opportunity and Promising Pages was chosen among three finalists. According to former BLOC President and Best-In-Tech Founder Scott Donaghy, “We like to choose non-profits which are small and local. We feel BLOC can help in a larger way by partnering with small groups just starting and by keeping the groups we support local.” It's doesn't get much more small and local than Promising Pages. Pages is run by three main volunteers, Cruise, Patricia Ozmeral and Linda Bonerba. Together with the help of others they have collected more than 25,000 kids books and are busy bees as they put them back into the hands of kids in our area who are growing up without books to call their own. 

Helping kids get books to call their own is also the mission of another foundation in the Charlotte area.  Carolina Panthers Linebacker James Anderson and his foundation have donated 4,500 books to children in Charlotte and his native Virginia.  Anderson was the celebrity golfer at the BLOC Charity Golf Tournament.  He is a native of Chesapeake, VA and has been involved with children since his days at Virginia Tech.  Before the tournament Anderson spoke passionately about the kids who have benefitted from his foundation when he said, “It is great to see the look in a kid’s eye when we give them a book. They can’t believe it when they realize they actually get to keep the book.”  We here at Promising Pages share that feeling.

Promising Pages founder Kristina Cruise with
Carolina Panthers Linebacker James Anderson

Even the crummy weather Monday couldn't rain on Anderson's parade, or the pride he felt about getting books into the hands of children. At one point there was a break in the golfing action because of lightning. There were three groups of golfers that parked their carts inside a tunnel along with Anderson. At first every group was attempting to see who could tell the biggest lie about their score. Shortly after this break Anderson sank a putt of about 12 feet on hole number 17. His athletic ability was on display as well when he had a driver in his hand.  He hit the ball a good 20 yards farther than anyone else in his foursome.  It seems his pride doesn't stop at books. 

Another partner of Promising Pages involved in this tournament was Tim O’Boyle, president of Journalbooks, a great marketing tool for any business large or small. O’Boyle is helping Promising Pages through a partnership with Queens University McColl School of Business.  He and a group of MBA Exec Students are writing a business plan for a new program called the One Million Books or OMB Campaign. That's how many books Cruise feels is needed to provide all kids in Charlotte who don't have them with a shelf full of books at home.

According to O’Boyle, “Journal books has always been part of the community and helped many organizations along the way.  Promising Pages seemed like a great fit for us and for BLOC. ” We at Pages look forward to implementing the One Million Book Campaign and we appreciate the funding this golf tournament brought us. 

Michael Barnes current President of BLOC and Vice President of Carolina Connections, Inc was also instrumental in making this opportunity become a reality for Promising Pages.  Barnes was the first person to inform Cruise about the BLOC Charity Golf Tournament and how to apply to be the beneficiary.  Barnes and Cruise met in Charleston, SC at a Charlotte Chamber Retreat. He thought she would be a good fit with BLOC and encouraged her to apply.  

“Kristina was one of three finalists allowed to give a 15 minute pitch on why their non profit should receive funding.  After seeing her presentation Promising Pages was the clear choice.” Barnes said.  This was the beginning of the relationship between Promising Pages and BLOC. This funding makes Promising Pages a real player in the non-profit world.  

The Members of BLOC are mostly small businesses.  In the Charlotte community they sometimes feel like David fighting Goliath in this city full of huge corporations.  Promising Pages sometimes also feels like David fighting against a Goliath which is the fact 60.000 kids in the Charlotte region are living without books.  With the generous help of BLOC, Promising Pages will feel much less like David by having an operating budget for the first time in its short history

Cicily Young dressed as Erma the Bookworm

On behalf of Promising Pages and the thousands of kids we serve we offer our sincerest thank you to BLOC, Ballantyne Resort, James Anderson and all of the sponsors who made this possible. It may be one small step for the BLOC community, but it was one giant leap for Promising Pages.

These were not the only supporters of the tournament. In fact, the list is long and distinguished:


HF Financial                                      The Hatcher Law Group

My Dentists CNP Technologies         Advanced Tech

Bk Bookkeeping On Demand            Hibiscus Graphix

Brian Boswell CPA                           Metlife of the Carolinas

In Good Company                            Best-in-tech

Chef Mike                                         Carolinas Connections Inc.

DiCi Services                                    Cabaret Systems

Difabion Remodeling                         HM Properties

Journal Books                                   Buona Vita Restaurant

John Street Graphics

Exactly how much funding has yet to be made know, but we know it's a BIG number. The full amount will be revealed at the June after-hours at the NC Music Factory.

-Mitchell Sharp

Promising Pages newest supporter, Baby Nate.