First Book - Brooklyn Organization Brings New Books to Children

Oct. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- (Brooklyn, New York) — First Book – Brooklyn (www.firstbook.org/brooklyn), an organization that provides disadvantaged children with their first book, launches today to help improve literacy rates among young children in socially and economically distressed areas of Brooklyn. There are many children from low-income families living in Brooklyn with little or no access to new books that they can call their own. First Book – Brooklyn is working to put new books into the hands of children in need.

“When I saw what First Book had done nationally and learned about the illiteracy rate in Brooklyn, I decided to create a Brooklyn chapter of this organization to help resolve this problem,” stated Michele R. Wells, co-founder, First Book –Brooklyn and senior editor at Penguin Group USA/DK Publishing. “First Book – Brooklyn’s mission is to help end illiteracy in Brooklyn by bringing new books to children in need in our community.”

“In order for our children to love reading and learning, they need to have access to books,” said Jennifer S. Wilkov, co-founder, First Book-Brooklyn and Book Consultant & Business Mentor for Authors and Writers at Your Book Is Your Hook. “Reading is essential for healthy kids and their future. With the help of First Book-Brooklyn Advisory Board members and other leaders in Brooklyn, more children will receive new books to take home, keep and cherish.”

•   In addition to the co-founders, charter members of First Book – Brooklyn include:
o  Jenny Bent, Community Outreach Manager
o  Joyce Chan, Community Outreach Manager
o  Sara Crowe, Fundraising Co-Chair
o  Bettina Faltermeier, Fundraising Co-Chair
o  Joe Faria, Video/Photo Manager
o  Stephanie Frizzel, Event Planning Manager
o  David Isaacs, Graphic Design Manager
o  Ruth J. Morrison, Public Relations Manager
o  Denise Stroffolino, Accounting Manager
o  Molly T. Wyand, Social Media Manager
o  Emily Viola, Strategy Consultant
o  Sherrie Young, Advisory Board Member

(see member bios in the addendum).


First Book – Brooklyn will host many events in Brooklyn, including an upcoming holiday party to raise money to support its efforts.

First Book – Brooklyn is part of First Book’s national network of volunteer-led Advisory Boards who provide new books to children in need in communities across the country. Access to books is essential to reading development. However, 61 percent of low-income families have no books for children in their homes. Additionally, over 80 percent of childcare centers serving low-income children lack age-appropriate books and other print materials. By providing children from low-income families with books they can take home and keep, First Book targets the only variable that correlates significantly with reading scores—the number of books in the home.

First Book- Brooklyn Co-Founders Michele R. Wells and Jennifer S. Wilkov are available

Addendum
First Book – Brooklyn Advisory Board Members

Founding Co-Chairs
Michele R. Wells is a senior editor at Penguin Group USA/DK Publishing, a literacy mentor with Everybody WINS Power Lunch, and a reading/writing tutor for Kaplan. She holds a BA in writing & art history and is pursuing a master’s in film writing from New York University. Her current favorite children’s books feature a certain mischievous pigeon created by Mo Willems.

Media personality, host, & producer of the popular talk show “Your Book Is Your Hook!” on WomensRadio, Jennifer S. Wilkov is a best-selling author, an award-winning freelance writer, the Literary Agent Matchmaker™, and a respected book & business consultant. She supports first-time & seasoned writers with getting published and marketing their projects, and has always been inspired by "Oh, The Places You’ll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.

Community Outreach Managers
Jenny Bent founded The Bent Agency in 2009, after 15 years in the business, most recently as a Vice President at Trident Media Group. She has represented more than 50 New York Times Best Selling books. Her favorite children’s book is "Anne of Green Gables."

Joyce Chan is a Human Resource Manager at Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. A recent resident of Brooklyn, Joyce spends her time playing tennis at Prospect Park & speedwalking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Her favorite children’s book is "The Chocolate Touch."

Fundraising Co-Chairs
Sara Crowe is an agent at Harvey Klinger, Inc. where she represents children’s fiction and adult fiction & nonfiction. She joined Harvey Klinger in 2005 to build her own list and to develop a children’s list for the agency. It’s hard to choose her favorite children’s book, but she’s always loved Winnie-the-Pooh.

Bettina Faltermeier is a senior manager, marketing and publicity at McGraw-Hill Professional. An American citizen since 2005, Bettina received her bachelor’s degree in composite literature from the University of California San Diego, magna cum laude. A native of Germany, her favorite children’s book is Heinrich Hoffman’s Der Struwwelpeter.

Video/Photo Manager
Joe Faria is an experienced producer, director, screenwriter, and video editor, currently working as the studio supervisor for the Film Department at School of Visual Arts. His first short film, “Union,” was featured at the Garden State Film Festival. His favorite children’s book? "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Event Planning Manager
Born, bred, and taught how to read in Brooklyn, Stephanie Frizzel works for Brant Publications producing Interview and Modern Magazine. Her first favorite book was "Eloise;" she still dreams of living in a hotel with a pet pug, unlimited room service, and a nanny.

Graphic Design Manager
David Isaacs is a NY-based designer whose branding/design agency, Eye 6 Productions, provides eye-catching visual merchandising to Fortune-500 companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, Coca-Cola, and Macy’s. David’s first children’s book, The Adventures of Hi-Hello the Flying Turtle, is due out in 2012; his own favorite book growing up was Dr. Seuss’s "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish."

Public Relations Manager
Ruth J. Morrison is the founder and CEO of Advanced Communications Strategies Group, a global media, marketing and business development company. Ms. Morrison was the first Executive Director for the Brooklyn International Trade Development Center (BITDC). Her favorite children’s book right now is SuperDaddies, The Series: "Daddy, I Can Read It for You."

Accounting Manager
Denise Stroffolino specializes in financial analysis and reporting for large companies, high-net-worth individuals, and organizations. A business analyst at Geller & Company, she also provides private accounting and tax services to individuals and mid-sized businesses. Her favorite children’s book is the Dr. Seuss classic, "Green Eggs and Ham."

Strategy Consultant
Emily Viola is a VP, Director of Planning at the advertising agency SS+K. She has developed branding and communications strategies for clients such as GE, Campbell’s, Gillette, Sharp, Guinness, United Technologies and Kraft. Her favorite children’s book is "Where the Red Fern Grows" because it taught her that books can make you smile, laugh, and cry.

Social Media Manager
Brooklyn newcomer, book lover, and blueberry pie enthusiast, Molly Wyand was born and raised in Rochester, NY. Molly works as an Editorial Coordinator at McGraw-Hill Professional, and her favorite book is "Charlotte’s Web."

Advisory Board Member
Sherrie Young serves as Director of Marketing and Special Projects at the National Book Foundation. She is also the co-founder of YB Literary Foundation, an organization with the mission to promote the reading of literature as a meaningful, lifelong activity. She enjoys reading to children and watching their faces as they discover something new. Her favorite children’s book is "Aesop’s Fables."

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About First Book-Brooklyn

First Book–Brooklyn (http://supporters.firstbook.org/site/Clubs?club_id=1260&p...) distributes books to programs serving low-income children throughout Brooklyn. First Book–Brooklyn meets the first Tuesday of every month. For more information, contact brooklyn@firstbook.org.

About First Book

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy—access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 80 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the nonprofit First Book, please visit www.firstbook.org.