The free book Buggie and RIF bring book Joy across Minnesota
This blog post is part of our National Reading Month series focused on how reading unites communities and inspires endless possibilities. Read this post from Debbie Beck, Executive Director and Founder of The Free Book Buggie, RIF’s local program partner in Minnesota and a 2022 -2023 RIF Matching Grant recipient, who inspires a love of reading and ensures children’s access to books across the state.
The mission of The Free Book Buggie (TFBB) is simple yet deeply impactful- to provide free books to children to spark a passion for reading that will empower each child to explore a world of opportunity. Books are loaded onto a converted shuttle bus and driven to community events where children can climb on board and select a book that matches their interests and reading level. Since June 2018, TFBB has provided over 300,000 books and partnered with more than 300 community organizations to reach children in over sixty communities across the Twin Cities metro area.
The mission of The Free Book Buggie (TFBB) is simple yet deeply impactful- to provide free books to children to spark a passion for reading that will empower each child to explore a world of opportunity. Books are loaded onto a converted shuttle bus and driven to community events where children can climb on board and select a book that matches their interests and reading level. Since June 2018, TFBB has provided over 300,000 books and partnered with more than 300 community organizations to reach children in over sixty communities across the Twin Cities metro area.
The impact on children is immediate as we see their faces light up with their new books or clutch their book to their chest and declare, “This is my fourth book!”. In the summer, children are often found right outside the Buggie reading their new books in the sunshine. At other events, I get the chance to read to children who have boarded the Buggie to choose their book. We even published our very own book we get to share with children who visit, which tells the story of how a mom with a dream to start a book buggie has touched the lives of thousands of children and inspired more than 400 volunteers to help her on her mission.
Although most of our books are donated, we also purchase new books to be able to offer a selection that reflects the diversity and culture of the communities we serve. When children are able to see themselves in a book, they are more likely to relate to the characters and engage with the story, allowing them to imagine a future full of possibility and not limited by their own experiences to date.
RIF shares our commitment to inspiring a joy of reading and ensuring access to diverse, quality books for the children we serve. Through our partnership with RIF, we are able to provide new, diverse books to many in our communities. I recognized early on that community partnerships were the key to “building stronger families and communities” and our partnership with RIF has been invaluable in helping TFBB get to where we are today.
In particular, in 2022, we received a grant from the Walser Foundation and a matching grant from RIF; through these grants we were able to purchase more than 1,000 books to stock the Buggie and reach kids in our community. By spending this money with care and intention, we filled the gaps in our shelves by choosing books written in languages other than English, books representing the rich cultural heritage of children across the Twin Cities, and books at all levels of reading. And, we are delighted that we will be receiving an additional 7,500 new books through RIF’s partnership with McDonalds. We know this work takes a village. Through collaboration with RIF, local community organizations and even individual community members who host book drives and donate books, we are able to impact children and drive our mission.
This year we will be expanding TFBB to Rochester, in Southern Minnesota, spreading the love of reading across the state. As we’re poised for growth and the need for even more books, we’re excited to continue our collaboration with RIF to build more home libraries for children.
As we grow, we remain laser focused on our mission and we know that being able to help children build their own home libraries not only spreads the joy of reading, but offers long-term benefits by building literacy and introducing children to a world of possibility within the pages of a book.
Debbie Beck, founder of The Free Book Buggie, has an MPNA degree from Metropolitan State University, and has been recognized by numerous communities and media sources in the Twin Cities for her focus on helping others. She has over 50 years of volunteer experience and that is what drives her - helping others.