More About Kids to Kids

There's so much more to say about Kids to Kids! Read some of the letters from our kids, and our community partners.

Breakfast With Books

During the 2004-2005 school year, we launched a new pilot program, "Breakfast With Books," at eight area schools. We were able to distribute more than 10,000 books to families in need and had an average attendance of more than 180 people at each event.

With support from the MGM Mirage Voice Foundation and Robert R. Banks Foundation, we expanded the program each year since to now include 16 local elementary schools.

The overall goal of Breakfast with Books is to increase the awareness and importance of reading as a family activity. Each program consists of a breakfast snack, story time, raffle, and most importantly the opportunity for both children and parents to select a new book.

Basic reading strategies are reinforced throughout each story, and families are given an activity to take home to "extend" the story. We hope this will encourage further discussion and enable each family to share and foster a love of reading at home.

Books & Buddies

The Books & Buddies Multi-Generational Reading Program was developed to improve the reading and comprehension skills of at-risk children by partnering them with volunteers acting as reading companions, focusing on improving the child's reading proficiency, comprehension and oral reading skills.

Books & Buddies provides children and their schools the much-needed human resources and individualized attention to enhance literacy efforts that are not readily available within the classroom and, unfortunately, are often absent from the child's home.

Books & Buddies mentors make a 12-week commitment to meet with a child for one hour each week to read together, complete instructional activities and simply be a treasured friend and role model for the youngster. The relationships that have developed between these "buddies," and the academic growth that has been demonstrated, is awe-inspiring. Eighty percent of the children served have strengthened their reading abilities up to, and sometimes beyond, one grade level, and the friendships between the mentors and their students are life-changing.

Becoming a Books & Buddies mentor requires a fingerprint background check, a 1 1/2-hour training session to learn the program’s policies and procedures, and a 12-week commitment to meet with a student one hour per week. (Some school campuses ask that mentors work with two children for 1/2 hour each.)

If you would like further information on this mentoring outreach, please contact Laurie Hartig, Program Director, by e-mail or call 715-5711.

Cleaning Parties

Kids to Kids hosts a number of weekly book cleaning parties around Las Vegas. Volunteers donate their time and a fair amount of elbow grease to get books into great shape for their new owners, at-risk kids.

We love our senior citizen volunteers. A list of cleaning party locations can be viewed in the sidebar at right.

Helen J. Stewart School, an educational facility which assists physically and intellectually impaired children and young adults, has also joined forces with the Kids to Kids literacy project. A group of young adults from the school joins the Boulder City seniors on a monthly basis and also cleans and repairs books as a school-related activity.

Past Programs and Events

Books From Badges

In June, 2003 Kids to Kids kicked off "Books From Badges," a partnership with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department that distributes books to children living in three Southern Nevada neighborhoods demonstrating the highest crime rates.

Officers patrolling these neighborhoods carry Kids to Kids bags filled with books. In addition to promoting literacy, these officers are helping establish positive relationships within these areas, and at police stations, too.

To date, nearly 12,000 books have been delivered to youngsters living in these neighborhoods. Because of the program's success, Kids to Kids expanded the "Books From Badges" outreach to serve the Laughlin community in February, 2005.

The North Las Vegas Police Department become a "Books From Badges" partner in early 2006.

Kids to Kids has also partnered with the Henderson Police Department. More than 1,500 books were donated to their new community center opening in the Galleria Mall on May 24, 2005.

Bookin' Bikers Tour

In June 2005, Kids to Kids took "reading on the road" for the 4th Annual Bookin' Bikers Tour. The Bookin' Bikers consist of a band of storytellers, musicians and historians who love reading, riding motorcycles and bringing their performing arts to young and old alike to help foster a love of literature.

The 2005 Summer Tour was conducted within the Las Vegas area to help celebrate Las Vegas' 100th birthday. Together, we have distributed more than 30,000 books to children and families.

Building Connections With Books

"Building Connections With Books" is a program that focuses on literacy by partnering Summerlin elementary schools with at-risk Las Vegas elementary schools.

The program partnered three elementary schools in Summerlin: Richard Bryan, Ober and Lummis and three at-risk elementary schools in Las Vegas: C.P. Squires, Rex Bell and Lois Craig.

In the first year of the grant, sponsored by the Summerlin Children's Forum, and The Howard Hughes Corporation, more than 35,000 books were collected by the three Summerlin schools. These books were given to each Las Vegas partner school.

Spread the Word Nevada Reaches Out to Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Spread the Word Nevada, the parent organization of Kids to Kids, rose to the occasion when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf region.

Through the efforts of Christine Milburn and fellow Boulder City, Nevada Sunrise Rotary members, more than 13,000 Kids to Kids children's books, clothes, games, school supplies, diapers, formula, and baby products, headed to Houston, Texas to provide comfort and assistance to the smallest victims—the children.

At the same time, Robin Camacho, another Kids to Kids friend, headed to Houston and the Astrodome to assist victims in securing proper identification and benefits and coordinate relocation of Katrina families to the safety and comfort of host families. As these "angels" were in Houston, Spread the Word Nevada was working diligently here in Clark County to assist a Louisiana family re-locate to our community. Karole Webster, her two daughters, niece, and five-month-old kitten were engulfed with an outpouring of friendship, love, and generosity as they established their new home in Las Vegas.

Donations of clothing, furniture, household goods, gift cards, veterinary services, money, and a vehicle eased their devastation.

Spread the Word Nevada is honored to have been a facilitator with so many, but especially the TLC of Ileana Drobkin and the Women's Ministry of Central Christian Church.

Contact us to get more involved.

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