Books on Bases Back to School Bash

It’s that time of year when every store is covered with back to school supplies and summer is winding down.  School age kids across the country are trading in their beach towels for backpacks and hitting the books.  Blue Star Families, Books on Bases program is helping military kids kick off back to school with its first Books on Bases, Back to School Bash!   

Blue Star Families, wants to get our military children excited about going back to school. The summer is often a time of change for military families, many moving to new duty stations, parents leaving and returning from deployment all add to the stress of starting a new school year.  We want military children to be excited about the new school year.  Our hope is that these Back to School Events will not only provide an opportunity for children and parents to make new friends but also raise awareness of the importance literacy plays in having a successful school year.

Books will not only be donated to attendees at these events but also to military impacted and Department of Defense Schools, military installation libraries and military impacted community libraries.  We want to encourage our children to read and providing a quality selection of books at local libraries is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children to help build their future. With every visit to a library a child is increasing their literacy skills and taking their next adventure through the pages of a book.

As the Blue Star Families, Books on Bases Program Manager, I love the expression on the children’s faces every time I am at an event handing out books! It’s usually followed by the parent asking “we get to take a book home?” it is always my pleasure to say yes.  I look at these opportunities as a chance to encourage children to read and parents to read with them. We are working to build future generations of readers and I want to help ensure that our military children are not left out. 

Events are scheduled at the following locations this year, if your installation is not on the list, we might be visiting you next year:

August 15, 2012: Camp Lejeune, NC

August 25, 2012: Fort Benning, GA

September 8, 2012: Atlanta NG, GA

September 15, 2012: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ

September 22, 2012: Coast Guard Stations Miami, FL

September 27^, 2012: Fort Meade, MD

September 29, 2012: Fort Campbell, KY