Up With Books is an all-volunteer nonprofit with a mission of providing new books to economically disadvantaged children living in our communities. Your support helps us fill  backpacks with age-appropriate books to keep children reading throughout the summer months. This enables them to continue their reading endeavors and avoid the "summer slide" where they could lose valuable reading skills. In 2024, Up With Books delivered 2,656 backpacks, totaling over 21,000 books, to children in need. To date, Up With Books has distributed over 500,000 books.  

This event is our annual silent auction fundraiser.  The auction will run online at BiddingForGood.com prior to our event.  We anticipate 250 attendees and our goal is to raise over $15,000 for our programs.  Proceeds from this event go towards our mission by purchasing new books for our Every Summer Has a Story reading program, which provides each child with a backpack filled with 8 to 10 age-appropriate books to keep them reading through the summer months. 

Books are more than just stories; they are gateways to knowledge, imagination, and a brighter future. By donating to our silent auction, you directly contribute to the purchase of new books and educational materials for children who lack access to these resources. Your support helps us instill a lifelong love of reading, improve literacy rates, and empower young minds to achieve their full potential.

Poverty and illiteracy go hand in hand and illiteracy keeps people trapped in a cycle of poverty.  According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the lowest levels themselves.  Childhood poverty is intergenerational and connected to the educational level of parents with 73% of children whose parents have less than a high school diploma live in low-income families. Approximately 60% of low-income families cannot afford books. Reading comprehension starts at home and the earlier children read, or are read to, the better opportunity they have to succeed.

We believe that every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed and that pathway begins with reading. With your support, we will level the playing field so that children can experience a summer of growth, overcome barriers to learning, and come to school ready to learn. Together, we can help them begin to break the cycle of poverty.

By fourth grade, literary skills become a foundation for learning in every class.  Without that foundation, students may fall behind their peers and may never catch up, causing frustration and lack of confidence. Students who cannot read at grade level by fourth grade are more likely to struggle academically, fail to graduate on time, and eventually may drop out of school.

Students who lose reading ability over the summer rarely catch up.  Over time, the summer learning slide can add up to the equivalent of three years of reading loss by the end of fifth grade.  Once children reach the fourth grade level, they are “reading to learn.”  A child unable to keep up academically at this level will face increased challenges. By this age if they cannot read proficiently they will be more likely to struggle academically and eventually drop out of school. A lack of academic achievement is a key reason students drop out of high school, as well as a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.  More than 8,000 children quit high school every day.  

Your donation will have a lasting impact on the lives of many children. Together, we can make reading and education accessible to all, paving the way for brighter futures.