Milk + Bookies: Parties That Teach Kids to Give Back

By Milk + Bookies, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: October 5, 2010

Started by a Los Angeles mother of two, Meredith Alexander, was wanting to find a way to spend family time that was also about helping the community. Meredith wanted to expose her children to giving back, not only at the holidays, but year round. In 2004, with her deep love of children’s literature, Milk + Bookies was born.

Milk + Bookies is now a nationwide charitable organization that, through the amazing power of story books, exposes kids to how great it feels to give back and help others.
At Milk + Bookies events, boys and girls are provided the opportunity to select, purchase and inscribe books that are then donated to their peers who do not have access to books of their own. M+B combines two essential and worthwhile efforts: LITERACY PROMOTION AND SERVICE LEARNING. While the book donations are imperative to their mission, just as important is instilling the seed of giving into each young guest (and host, as is the case for the M+B Class Project).

They want to spark a feeling of importance, self-confidence and the desire to give and give again.

These fun filled events are about celebrating giving and reading and they feature music, story time and, of course, milk and cookies.

There are three main models for sharing the M+B mission.

Their initiative is to recreate the giving experience for young children on a national level and here are the different and easy ways to do so:

M+B CLASS PROJECT
For middle school through college students, they offer a chance to earn community service hours and become empowered in peer-based philanthropy by hosting a book store party and inviting neighborhood families with young children. Step by step instructions and submissions are available on our website. M+B has a relationship with most bookstores, including (but not exclusively with) Barnes & Noble.

M+B BIRTHDAY PARTY
Parents with younger children can bring the event model into their own homes. In lieu of gifts for the birthday child, guests are invited to bring a new hardcover picture book. The child guests inscribe and donate their books to the recipient group pre-chosen by the host family.

IN SCHOOL BOOK FAIRS
Milk + Bookies has successfully partnered with Scholastic Book Fairs to bring this giving model to elementary schools. The lessons of giving, with our literature, can continue into the classroom setting.

Milk+Bookies isn’t the first organization to raise books for children living in poverty, but they are one of the first to prioritize the raising of young philanthropists while doing so. M+B feels very strongly that children need to be surrounded with experiences that let them learn how great it feels to help others.

Find out how you can host an event for a birthday, Girl Scout troop, school project or book club.
www.milkandbookies.org