Our Story

how it all started…

This idea began last fall during a Family Night at our local food bank. On this night, volunteers spent two hours sorting food into backpacks to be delivered on Fridays to dozens of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). These backpacks then find their way to students needing nutritional meals at home each weekend.

If we can support children’s physical growth and development by sending nutritional food home to eat, then we should also be able to support their growing minds by sending quality books home to read.

Fast forward to where we are now. We have learned that with every $1000, we can purchase about 250 quality titles from picture books to chapter books. We have seen the excitement students show as they choose books: with characters who look like them, with topics they are interested in reading, and with the understanding that these books are theirs to keep.

Thanks to many committed donors, NBC has raised over $10,000 to support its work since launching in the Fall 2019. So far, these funds have allowed us to distribute over 1700 meaningful, diverse books that K-4 students are excited to read!

• We exceeded our expectations at Carter Lawrence Elementary School in our Fall 2019 partnership, giving out nearly 250 books per week for 6 weeks.

• We distributed 300 books during our Mini-Pilot at Warner Arts Magnet Elementary School in Fall 2020. (This Mini-Pilot was designed as a “test case” for a whole-school 2021 partnership in which we plan to distribute over 1600 books for students to keep.)

• As of May 2022, we have distributed over 4,000 books kids are excited to read.

We plan to have as much success in the Fall 2022 phase of the pilot as we partner with Fall-Hamilton Elementary School.

As we plan for our next 6-week pilot, we need to buy more books kids are excited to read! Donate now to support our next pilot program!