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Montana Federation of Public Employees President Amanda Curtis did a 2,100-mile listening tour giving out more than 700 books, including several written by or about Indigenous people, at 13 schools across Montana.
The Washington Teachers’ Union, African American Policy Forum, New Republic, District of Columbia Public Schools, and DC Public Library hosted a panel with high school students, teachers, and librarians to discuss the alarming uptick in banned books and gave out over 1,000 books. This was the culmination of a Banned Book Tour sponsored by the AFT in which more than 15,000 books were distributed in five states.
In the shadow of the Florida state capitol, the Florida Education Association hosted the Great Florida Read In, giving away 25,000 books—including diverse and banned titles—to push back on Governor Ron DeSantis’s policies that limit books and curricula in Florida’s classrooms.
The Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers in Watsonville, California, hosted a 40,000-book giveaway at a family literacy and community event that also provided dental and vision clinics, a science bus, live student entertainment, free snacks, and much more.
In Missouri, paraprofessional and AFT St. Louis Vice President Carron Johnson designed a 10-week literacy workshop for pre-K students and their families to support pre-literacy, parenting, and socialization skills. Along with books for their home libraries, families received individualized support based on videos of them reading and interacting with their children.
The Cleveland Teachers Union partnered with the mayor of Cleveland and the Cleveland Public Library for the yearlong Cleveland Reads Citywide Reading Challenge to collectively read one million books and/or for one million minutes in 2023. Reading Opens the World donated nearly 50,000 books to the effort.
The United Teachers of Wichita developed a one-on-one virtual program to help readers who need a little boost to meet grade-level requirements. Each week, children receive a free book and 30 minutes of personalized support.
Starting in 2023, the New York State Public Employees Federation has hosted an annual PEF Community Wellness & Book Fair anchored by giving away more than 20,000 books to students, families, healthcare providers, nonprofit partners, educators, and public employees in Albany.
The Nashua Teachers’ Union partnered with the Nashua Public Library, Nashua Chamber of Commerce, and others to host a back-to-school fair with free books, school supplies, backpacks, and much more to welcome students, families, educators, librarians, and school staff.
Members of the Ohio State University Nurses Organization brought hundreds of books to students at West Broad Elementary School—and donated extra books for the school’s library—to show that they care for their patients and for their community.
The Hartford Federation of Paraeducators hosted a family literacy festival in partnership with the city of Hartford, Hartford Public Library, and Dalio Foundation to distribute more than 50,000 books at the Connecticut Convention Center. Along with free books, there were fire trucks, bounce houses, and superhero and princess characters come to life from children’s books to spread the joy of reading.