The SAISD Foundation is expanding its support of student experiences in SAISD through Book Buddies, a program providing free books for SAISD students in grades PK-8, allowing them to start and grow their own home libraries.
“We are thrilled that Book Buddies is now a program of the SAISD Foundation and look forward to expanding to serve even more students across San Antonio ISD," said Judy Geelhoed, executive director, SAISD Foundation. "By providing books before key breaks, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and Summer Break, Book Buddies is helping kids start and grow their own home libraries and fostering a life-long love of reading. Thank you to Port San Antonio for donating a beautiful sorting facility, to The Texas Cavaliers and the Najim Charitable Foundation for generously supporting Book Buddies, to Better World Books and Literati for donating books, and to the many volunteers who make this program possible.”
As a Title I school district, nearly 90% of SAISD students are economically disadvantaged – almost double the poverty rate when compared to the average Texas student. Many come from homes with few or no books. In past years, Book Buddies’ annual “Book Celebrations” provided books to each child in many of these schools. In the 2020-21 school year, the program is expanding to serve more students by increasing the frequency of distributions and number of schools served. By providing books at key breaks, Book Buddies is helping kids start and grow their own home libraries and building a love of literacy.
“Like educators throughout our community, we want to ensure that we inspire and prepare our young people and connect them with exciting opportunities in their future educational and career paths," said Jim Perschbach, president and CEO, Port San Antonio. "This program is a terrific way to achieve just that."
In the 2020-21 School Year, Book Buddies will expand to distribute over 100,000 books to over 16,000 students in 35-plus schools (up from 65,000 books and 11,000 students at 20 schools in 2019). In the summer of 2020, Book Buddies partnered with the SAISD transportation and library services department for a “Roll into Reading” tour, distributing over 16,000 books at all 70 meal distribution sites to families living in the District.
Founded in 2014 by Jane Welch, Book Buddies was adopted in 2019 by the SAISD Foundation. Book Buddies is supported by The Texas Cavaliers and The Harvey Najim Foundation.