We believe increasing access to amazing titles includes helping to provide books in areas where children may not have access to purchasing books from our store. We have partnered over the years with several community partners to provide books.
Starting in 2023, we will be providing one book for every subscription box sent out each month! We will partner with new organizations where books can make an impact on children in our community. Check back for more information about who our community partners will be in 2023.
If you would like to make additional purchases to be directed to our community partners, please click here and purchase books and we will add you contributing to our quarterly delivery.
If your organization, school, or business could benefit from books donated from our store, please reach out to customerservice@forfutureleaders.com.
Our Previous Community Partners
Storybook Maze
Storybook Maze is placing free book vending machines in book deserts across Baltimore. When librarian Araba Maze read to neighborhood children on the front porch, she didn't expect that she'd soon be launching a project to provide access to free books to hundreds of kids through repurposing vending machines from junk food distributors to pathways to literacy.
The book vending machines and bookshelves will be placed in strategic areas of the county where Baltimoreans need them most. We're bringing these machines to barbershops, local laundromats, subway stations, parking lots, parks, or the lobbies of low income housing units. Selections also address community specific needs, this mean books for children and their families with characters that look like them, speak the same languages, celebrate the same holiday, and face the same struggles.
You can learn more about Araba's mission by watching her interview on Good Morning America!
VOICES
VOICES enhances the lives of youth through an expression of self, community involvement, and providing options that will empower them to change their lives.
Since 2010 VOICES has been working to change the narrative of some of our most vulnerable youth and families in Indianapolis. Our philosophy is rooted in what Christopher Emdin describes as “reality pedagogy,” which is built on the idea that teachers have to see and appreciate their students’ strengths and build real, respectful relationships with those students before they can effectively impart lessons.”
By building solid, trusting, relationships and affirming our youth, VOICES has been able to see real impact in our 3 focus areas: Mental Health, Crime Prevention/Intervention and Education.
Trauma impacts people in many ways. Some individuals find ways to cope and overcome life’s events, others, suffer physical and emotional consequences that can last a life time. The impact this has on youth development often gets lost in the observance of the poor behavior choices that youth are making. All of VOICES programming is designed to increase the youth and families’ skillsets in the following areas:
- Self-Regulation Skills
- Relational Skills
- Problem Solving Skills
- Positive Community Involvement
- Increased literacy
We understand that youth development is not successfully accomplished by one program or agency alone. We continuously seek to foster new partnerships and pursue community collaboration to ensure that our youth understand that they have options and an entire community of people who see their value and potential.
Saddle Up and Read
Saddle Up And Read is on a mission to encourage youth to achieve literary excellence through equine activities. In 2017, founder Caitlin Gooch noticed the literacy rates in North Carolina were low. Caitlin acted immediately by creating an incentive with a local library. As a prize for reading, this incentive included a day at her father's horse farm. The only requirement was for children to check out 3 or more books from the library. It turned out to be a great success which led to Saddle Up And Read.
In April 2019, Saddle Up and Read became established as a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. "Horses connect people and get kids excited. Why not use that energy to encourage kids to read?" Caitlin states. To this day, SUAR has visited elementary schools, libraries, child care centers, church youth groups, and community events.
MLK Center
At the MLK Center everyone has the opportunity to learn, play, grow and find peace. By embracing the teachings and philosophies of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the MLK Center provides vital individual skills and family resources that allow residents in the Mid-North neighborhoods of Indianapolis to grow and enhance their lives. Our approach helps people of all ages find - and remain on - their own paths to success and stability. Dr. King believed that conflicts can be resolved peacefully. In a committed Beloved Community, conflict ends with reconciliation of adversaries cooperating in a spirit of mutual respect and goodwill. We work to make this possible in our culture.
The MLK Center mission is rooted in the values we have established as a neighborhood leader of individual and family support for our residents: To create a meaningful impact on the lives of those we serve, through quality, multi-generational programs that build community, invest in youth, empower families, advocate for our neighbors, and provide a peaceful space to connect.
Please consider adding an additional donation to your purchase to help us buy even MORE books for our future leaders!
The Book Re-View
About The Book Re-View
The Book Re-View is dedicated to providing grade-level and age appropriate literature to students who do not have easy access to supplemental reading material at home. Our hope is that all children, regardless of the family financial situation, have the opportunity to expand their minds and explore new horizons through the power of reading.
Interested in Partnering with Us?
If you are interested in becoming a future partner of the Future Leaders Book Club, please contact our Director of Philanthropic Partnerships, Ryann Foster at rfoster@forfutureleaders.com
Interested Bulk Custom Orders?
If you are interested in ordering bulk quantities for your organization, please email us at customorders@forfutureleaders.com
