Bess The Book Bus stops in Asheville April 14

Press release from Bess the Book Bus:

BESS THE BOOK BUS TO HOST “LITERACY OUTREACH” IN ASHEVILLE ON THEIR NATIONAL TOUR , TO GIVE FREE BOOKS TO HUNDREDS OF KIDS.

EVENT DATE: Saturday, April 14, 2018
EVENT TIME: 1 PM – 3 PM
LOCATION: 4 South Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC
Hundreds of kids will receive free books

WHAT: Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy outreach based in Tampa, FL is gearing up for their 10th annual nationwide tour. Bess will travel the United States visiting schools, community centers, libraries and local bookstores in 164 towns across 33 states. Book bus staff and volunteers will read aloud to children who will then have the opportunity to shop for their own free books.

Bess will also be joined by Tampa based Giving Tree Music www.givingtreemusic.com and Boards for Bros www.boardsforbros.org on portions of the trip.

Since starting Bess the Book Bus in 2002, the founder Jennifer Frances has grown the program into one of the nation’s most innovative mobile literacy initiatives.

Thanks to a network of volunteers and support from CITGO, Townsend Press, Capstone Publishers, local bookstores and other corporate sponsors, Bess the Book Bus has visited 48 states, supported more than 300,000 children, and donated more than 650,000 books. In 2018, she hopes to give away more than 60,000 books on the tour.

About Bess the Book Bus
Bess the Book Bus is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization committed to extending literacy across the country. Run by Jennifer Frances of Tampa, Fla., the organization visits local communities across the country in a specially designed “book bus,” coordinating reading events and providing children with a free, new book for them to keep. For more information, visit www.bessthebookbus.org and https://www.facebook.com/bessthebookbus

We build home libraries and a love for reading in our most underserved communities by making the joy of book ownership a reality for our kids.

The Educational Challenges Faced by Children in Need and Literacy.
Vocabulary development by age 3 has been found to predict reading achievement… By age 3, children from wealthier families have typically heard 30 million more words than children from low-income families. (AEC, 2010)

Children from low-income families lack early interactions that lead to language development including being read to and access to books in the home. New data show that children from low-income families have one-fourth the vocabulary of children from wealthier homes. (NPR,2011).