My Heartfelt Passion
Saving Our Nation One Child at a Time
Do you have any idea how hard life is for the child who grows up in our modern society without learning to read? If you will read on, I will share this with you and tell you up front, that all of us are paying a high price, for all of our citizens who never learn this important skill. According to a 2017 study by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in America can’t read.
A large part of the reason for this statistic is that 61 percent of low-income families have no books in the home for their children to read. This is a very crucial time when reading development takes place. And as a result here is the sad reality — according to the Department of Justice the link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure. The stats back up this claim: 85 percent of all juveniles are functionally illiterate. 70 percent of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level and this is silently killing America.
Fortunately a group of my fellow citizens here in Conway, Arkansas, are doing something about this tragic problem. In 2005, with the help of our local police chief, I founded the Conway Bookcase Project to give pre-school children being reared in low-income families a personalized bookcase and a starter set of books. This is an all-volunteer giving-back project, and we are in our 15th year. We have now given more than 800 of these bookcases, and a starter set of books, here in Conway. We have also helped start bookcase projects in five other states and the combined total is more than 2,000 bookcases nationwide.
This project is committee led and we only have two events each year. First we have a bookcase literacy banquet to raise the funds to buy the wood and materials to build the bookcases. This takes place in mid-October. The following April we have an annual Awards Ceremony to present the bookcases to the children and their parents. Both of these events are highlighted by great media coverage, both television and newspaper. We have many prominent people in our community to handle all the details, to entertain, speak and provide the help and support for great success. We have had more than 5,000 of our citizens involved in one way or another.
Scenes From a Community Committed to Improving Literacy
We have had great success as a result of the project. One example is a young man by the name of JoVoni Johnson, who, as a Head Start child at age 4, got a bookcase and some books. The first time I heard about him he was in the 10th grade. He was getting academic scholarship offers from colleges and was the back-up quarterback on the football team.
Now please fast forward to when JoVonni was a senior. He had a grade point of 4.27, ACT of 34, National Merit Scholarship award winner, President of his 600-member Senior Class, All-State quarterback for the football team with a 10-3 record and got a full scholarship the following year to Rice University in Houston. And he gives a lot of credit for his success to getting started reading when he got the bookcase, and some books, when he was a 4-year-old Head Start child.
As the Founder of this project, and now over 80 years of age, I know that my days are numbered and this is why I have written this book. It is available from Amazon and other retailers and gives a complete chronology of our copyrighted project where any group of concerned citizens can begin a project just like ours.
My friend John Rey, former mayor of DeKalb, Illinois, did this about 9 years ago and they are still going strong and building and presenting bookcases every year. When we have 5 to 10 copies of this book in the hands of leaders in communities all across America, who will begin bookcase projects we will make a difference, a big difference. People who have read this book tell me they couldn’t put it down.
Having this background information will make it easier to relate to the photographs, and to appreciate that after 15 years, as Founder and Chairman, I have retired to “Give Back” in other ways. Every community in America needs a Bookcase Project and I am pleased to tell you that our local Conway Kiwanis Club has taken over this project and the Chairman Richard Plotkin would be delighted to help you start a project in your community. His contact information is – 501-920-9429, [email protected].
If you are concerned about the future of our nation, especially our children, you could never find a more important cause than starting a great Bookcase Project in your community. Literacy is the key to a great education and education is the key to success and a great life. Buy and read this book, then buy books for other key leaders and you will be well on your way to truly improving literacy in your community. Just Do It!
P.S. Most people do not truly understand that the spirit of volunteerism, and the billions of hours that our citizens have given to worthwhile causes, without thought of personal gain, is one of the reasons the United States of America became the greatest nation in the world.
The cost of this book is $17.95 and is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book retailers. For a personally signed copy send $20, (includes postage and handling) to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.