Courtesy of Books for Newborns
Richard Nix Sr. spent years working with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on a program that assists low-income residents with utility bills, but had long wondered how to address the root problems of poverty rather than just mitigate poverty's results.
Then a chance observation of a toddler entranced by a picture book during a church service sparked the idea that would become Books for Newborns.
Research shows two-thirds of children living in poverty have no books in their homes. In the St. Louis metropolitan area alone, that translates into 2,000 to 5,000 newborns each year that arrive at homes without a single book. Since beginning in early 2017, Books for Newborns has been trying to shift those statistics by providing low-income new mothers with free book bags that contain four age-appropriate book, as well as information on how to engage and bond with their babies. That information includes a Mother’s Day card penned from the baby’s point of view that offers suggested games, songs, and more.
Courtesy of Books for Newborns
“Research shows 85 percent of brain development happens in the first three years,” says Nix, who founded the local catering company Butler’s Pantry with his wife in 1966. “My idea is to try to make every home we put a book bag into a preschool.”
So far, the all-volunteer nonprofit has partnered with nine organizations, including St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, to provide book bags. Books for Newborns is on track to deliver hundreds of book bags this year and has already outraised its 2017 budget goal of $15,000.
Nix expects the rapidly growing nonprofit to deliver anywhere from 2,400 to 3,000 bags next year, and he aims to raise at least $50,000 in 2018. He adds that people have been eager to support the program with donations that include computers, printing services, and 15,000 square feet of warehouse space.
“We really made a lot of headway in our first year, far more than we expected,” Nix says. “I tell people, ‘Since we started this, I haven’t had a bad day.’”
The book bags also positively affect others in the home, including the newborn’s mom and siblings.
Nix says Books for Newborns will take any local partner and would love for the idea to expand nationally. And, while he knows there’s no single, simple solution to the problems behind poverty, he hopes Books for Newborns offers babies a strong start in life.
“The time to get these children started reading and having mothers connecting with babies is when they are newborns, right from the time they come home from the hospital," he says.
To learn more about Books for Newborns or to make a donation, visit its website.
