It is such a delightful TREAT to be able to share the joy of language and literacy with children!

With our community partners, we are able to serve over 20,000 children throughout Michigan on a regular basis (not just once but over and over again) because of the support from YOU!

Our FUNdraiser last weekend was a HUGE SUCCESS!

We saw a few HUNDRED people throughout the day who came out to play and celebrate our work, raising over $25,000 for our programs for children!

On behalf of all involved in bringing the FUNdraiser together, and making it truly successful, we are supremely grateful.

It was such a TREAT to meet all who came to the event!

We are grateful to ALL who came to the Bay Theatre!

Special thanks, Graham, for helping make the movie experience so grand!

Thanks are also in order for all who came to share the wonders of the music, the wine, the food, & the glorious weather! It was as if we were in a movie that night!

Thanks to all at Shady Lane Cellars for hosting us!

Finally, thanks to our special guest of the day, W. Bruce Cameron!

The Doggie Montage was a HIT! If you missed it, click below. The dog that received the most votes was Cody who was reading a book, of course!

But WAIT... there are More TREATS to come!!

You are the TREAT to the community! Thanks for all you do. We hope to see you at one of the volunteer opportunities, or one day in our office as you stay to work or pick up work to do at home! Without all of our volunteers, we could not possibly accomplish all that we do!

You are our PoWeR!

In Memoriam...

With deep sadness, we learned on the day of our fundraiser that our FIRST community partner, Ruth Blick, had passed away. Had it not been for meeting Ruth and her initial instrumental assistance, PoWeR! Book Bags may not ever have begun. It started as a result of volunteering at the Salvation Army one holiday season. There, I met Ruth. Ruth was willing to let us 'try' giving away books along with our early PoWeR! Literacy Bags. From the start, Ruth was very encouraging and helped create our first Facebook page, teaching me "how to DO Facebook" and acting as our administrator for it! She provided encouragement, direction, and support at every turn. Whenever we arrived with a delivery at the Salvation Army, everyone there knew that Ruth had to be alerted. She would bound up the stairs and assist with unloading and reloading the shelves. She cared so much for the children and families she served. Always at the holiday meals and organizing Christmas toy give aways, Ruth worked tirelessly to ensure every child had something for Christmas -- including a book. Many a season, we were bringing her last minute deliveries so that everyone -- even the teens -- had something to read during the holiday!

We owe so much to Ruth and will miss her deeply.

It is a TREAT to be sharing our mission to increase children's language, literacy, and human interactions with ALL OF YOU who care!

(Especially all of you who read to the very end!)

We wish you all the best in these upcoming days! May your time be filled with all sorts of TREATS and only the friendliest of tricks!

Gratefully,

Kara and the entire PoWeR! Team