Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces

One of the great joys in my own life has always been reading, and to me the little library in the small town I grew up in was a magical place. Another joy in my life was reading bedtime stories to my children, and a third, of course is being an author myself. I love books, and people who read them, so hearing about book sharing and donation programs gets my day off to a very good start indeed.

I've talked here about my favorite charity, United Through Reading, but here is another great campaign.Loree Tillman, the Director of Programs for Blue Star Families and the 2010 Navy Spouse of the Year selected by “Military Spouse” magazine, has undertaken a national tour in the “Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces” program jointly sponsored by Blue Star Families and Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc.. Vanessa Lynch, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii Public Affairs reports in her article, "Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces" that Tillman is going to military-impacted schools and libraries around the country to deliver new children’s books and call attention to the importance of good literacy programs for military children.

Tillman was in Hawaii in August, distributing books to children at the Sgt. Yano Library, at Tripler Army Medical Center, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and the Navy Exchange. About 2,000 books were distributed on the island."I didn’t want the West Coast to forget that we have Soldiers and families stationed here in Hawaii, and that they need our support as well," Tillman said. Blue Star Families plans to distribute 25,000 books in 2010; 30,000 in 2011; and 35,000 in 2012 to reach a goal of providing 100,000 books to military children through the program.

"I like to sit down and read to my kids," said Tiffanie Ward, a military spouse who, with her 4-year-old daughter, Lanah, is a library patron. "At night, I like to read my children bedtime stories to put them to sleep."

"Having free books and being able to promote literacy is terrific," said Bonnie Dong, supervisory librarian at Sgt. Yano Library, and as is usually the case, a library with good children’s books brings parents in as well. "For us, it’s good to have an event like this to get people in the door that otherwise wouldn’t come in," said Amy Nogami, chief of the Yano library activities branch. "This way they get to see what else we have to offer here."