A Story Like Mine
SVP Investee The Children's Book Bank officially launched their A Story Like Mine project with an event at fellow SVP Investee, Kairos PDX with Latino Network and the Native American Youth and Family Center on Multicultural Diversity Day, Monday, October 19. The project is focused on better meeting the needs of the children by making more culturally diverse books available.
When it comes to cultural diversity, Portland, Oregon isn’t usually considered a melting pot. According to the most recent U.S. CensusU.S. Census information, the Portland metro area is 9% Latino, 7% Asian, and 6% African-American. Yet, the 2014 Poverty in Multnomah County Report reveals that communities of color account for 44% of people living in poverty in the Portland area, making culturally specific outreach an important part of social services. When it comes to providing books to children, though, The Children’s Book Bank, a nonprofit serving low-income children, struggles to provide the multicultural books children really need.“The reality is, when donors bring us books, less than 1% of them have multicultural content,” said Dani Swope, The Children’s Book Bank founder and executive director. “When you consider nearly 75% of the children we serve in Multnomah County are Latino, African-American, Asian, and Native American, our supply of culturally relevant books doesn’t even come close to meeting the need.”
The benefits of culturally diverse children’s books are difficult to argue. According to First Book, more than 90 percent of children become enthusiastic readers when they see literary characters who look like them or who share their cultural heritage. Children connect better to books, learn more respect for others, and become more curious about the world when they read culturally diverse books. Unfortunately, two-thirds of low-income families—many of which are in the cultural minority—don’t own any books for their children, much less books that reflect their lives and culture. With nearly one in five urban preschoolers living below the federal poverty level, the need for books is huge.
A Story Like Mine
The Children’s Book Bank is hoping to raise awareness with new and existing donors about the lack of multicultural books with A Story Like Mine—a dedicated project with a goal of bolstering availability of culturally diverse books, primarily by increasing donor dollars to purchase multicultural books in bulk, at a reduced rate. The need for multicultural books in Multnomah County inspired the Portland Timbers Community Fund, Advantis Credit Union, and Junior League of Portland to provide generous grants to the project, totaling $15,500.This year the goal is to include five culturally relevant books in each bundle of 10-14 books for 1,000 (of a total 4,000) children of color that they serve and to set the foundation to eventually include culturally diverse books in all of the book bundles. These books help children from diverse backgrounds better connect with reading and help all children learn respect for different cultures and develop a wider curiosity about the world.
Help bridge the gap between the need for multicultural books and their availability!