freebooks

A four-year-old boy received the 10,000th book to be given away by the Free Books for Kids and Teens Program at Ascension Episcopal Church in Hinton, W. Va. this May.

Several years ago, published reports listed Summers County, where Ascension is located, as having the highest school dropout rate in the state of West Virginia. In talking about the problem, one of the members of the congregation - a social worker - noted that she often visits homes where there are no children's books of any kind. Children in such homes are likely to enter school without ever having been read to, or even looking at a book of their very own.

Congregants began helping in 1993

In discussing ways to help remedy this problem, the idea arose that Ascension might find a way to distribute free books to area children. In the summer of 1993 this idea led to the first "Free Books for Kids Day" at Ascension.

For two or three months church members collected used books from neighbors and yard sales. They brought in books that their own children had outgrown, and several members bought new books as well. With a donation from the Vestry to buy a few more new books and a children's Bible to give away as a door prize, the church set the date for the first Free Books for Kids Day in August 1993.

About 30 children came for that first session. They were served refreshments and allowed to choose two used and one new book each. At the end of the day, a drawing was held for the door prize. The smiles on the faces of the children and the words of thanks from the parents let the congregation know that this was a program worth continuing.

Program expanded in 1995

For the next couple of years Free Books for Kids Day was held every six months. In 1995, aided by a grant from the Diocese of West Virginia, the program was expanded to four times a year and has remained on the quarterly schedule ever since.

The congregation also began a limited delivery of books directly to the homes of children who are unable to attend the book days at the church. For four years they provided diction- aries to each incoming sixth grader at Summers Middle School, but that project has since been discontinued. A recent addition to the program is giving New Testaments in easy-to-read translations to both children and parents.

In the summer of 1999, the program was recognized as a Jubilee Ministry.
Between August 1992 and April 12, 2003, the Free Books for Kids and Teens program distributed approximately 11,350 books, with 3,661 individual contacts reported.