BOOKS

A new chapter for Team First Book

Local nonprofit gets new leadership

Ben Steelman StarNews Staff

WILMINGTON -- A new leadership team has taken over at Team First Book, the local nonprofit that distributes books to disadvantaged youngsters, but the co-chairmen say it will stay true to his mission.

Carol Barre, who headed the group since its founding in 2006, stepped down on Jan. 1. Her place is being taken by a seven-member advisory council co-chaired by Ada Atkinson and Diane Blaschak.

"Seven of us can do what Carol was previously doing," Blaschak joked.

What the group does, and will continue doing, is buying quality children's books and passing them out to students in pre-kindergarten through second grade in Title I schools (those with high numbers of low-income children) as well as summer enrichment programs and community groups that serve them.

The local group is affiliated with First Book, a national charity founded in 1992. By buying in bulk, the organization is acquiring large quantities of books at low prices.

Since its founding, Team First Book has distributed some 51,000 books to 23,000 children, including 6,670 books to 2,400 children in 2018 alone.

"We want to create a habit of reading," said Atkinson, a retired nurse and Wilmington native. "Youngsters who read make better grades, they're more likely to stay in school and more likely to graduate."

Study after study shows that low-income pupils have less access to books, said Blaschak, a former marketing executive working with health care and nonprofits in the Pittsburgh area, who retired to the Wilmington area in the fall of 2017.

Team First Book derives its funding from individual donations and from grants from other agencies.

Both co-chairmen had nothing but praise for Barre's long term of management. "She's leaving us with a house in good order," Blaschak said. "We want to hold on to the momentum that Carol's achieved."

Barre, a former bookstore manager, said the group had greatly benefited from working with Quality Enhancement for Nonprofit Organizations (QENO), the University of North Carolina Wilmington's outreach program to help local nonprofits.

"We had two sessions of organizational consulting," she said. "They really helped us see what the next steps should be."

Barre will remain with Team First Book as a volunteer.

In addition to donations, the group is looking for volunteers to help distribute books to classes and other groups. "The kids are really so grateful," Blaschak said. "We see them in kindergarten, then in first and second grade. And they take the books home, and their brothers and sisters read them."

"Part of the message is, we want children to know, the whole community cares that you love reading," Barre said. "You are our future workers, our future leaders, maybe our future doctors. We want you to succeed."

Other advisory council members are Cecile Blankenhorn, Jean Graff, Rebecca Kinnebrew, Jan Leise and Linda Thomas.

Reporter Ben Steelman can be reached at 910-616-1788 or Ben.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com.

Want to help?

To donate, visit support.firstbook.org/TheyAreAllOurChildren.

Or write a check payable to Team First Book, c/o 2019 Graywalsh Drive, Wilmington, NC 28405.

To volunteer, email TeamFirstBook@gmail.com.