November 14, 2025 • 30 mins
Community DC Host Dennis Glasgow visits with Founder of Storybook Treasures Denise Corbo, topics include: What they do, schools they work with, funding & donations, plus we feature their first ever "Teacher of the Year" Carolyn O'Neal from Parkview Elementary School in Stafford, VA.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good morning, and welcome to another edition of Community DC.
I'm your host Tennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome back
to the program Denise Corbo. She is the founder of
Storybook Treasures, a local, nonprofit school based literacy program that
provides books, lesson plans, and other materials to pre k
through third grade students to foster love of reading and
build their home libraries. The program provides students with books,
(00:27):
a corresponding toy, and a tote bag to take home.
For teachers, it offers curated lesson plans and workbooks, and
parents receive bilingual resources to support reading at home. The
program prioritizes economically disadvantaged communities, aiming to improve literacy skills
and academic success for students. We'll also visit with Storybook
Treasures inaugural Teacher of the Year, Caroline O'Neill, who teaches
(00:49):
kindergarten at Park Ridge Elementary in Stafford, Virginia. Here's my
conversation with Denise. I hope you enjoy the conversation as
much as I did.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Good morning, Denise, Hi, Good morning Dennis.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
It's been a well since we had you on, and
we always have a lot of new listeners on Community DC,
and I would just like you to talk about Storybook Treasures,
about what it is and why you started it, how
long it's been around. Can you tell us about the
origin story please?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah? Sure.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
So Storybook Treasures actually started in my kindergarten classrooms. So
I've been a kindergarten teacher for over thirty years, and
in about fifteen years ago, when standards changed from kindergartens
a place to learn about the alphabet and socialization to
you better have them reading, I knew I needed to
change the way that I did business, and so I
(01:35):
created a program based on best practices, trying to get
all the children excited about reading, excited about books, putting
books in their hands, and also getting parents engaged with
the process, because we know that that's such an important
element to ensure that parents are reading and engaging with
kids at home. And then at the end of the year,
every one of my students got a perfect score on
(01:56):
their literacy test. Nice And so I went to my
husband and I said, you know, I need to start
a nonprofit. I need to share this out with my friends.
My colleagues need this, you know, families need this, children
need this, And I really want to start a nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
And he looked at me and he said, who's money
you're going to use for that? And I said our money,
and yeah, he kind of checked, just like you're doing now.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
And he's like, uh, you know you're a teacher, right,
He's like, there's no money to start a nonprofit or
a business. And I just always know that I have
a plan and God tends to have a bigger plan.
And so I came back to him about two weeks
later and I said, guess what I'm going to do.
I took on a job driving a limousine and I'm
going to work on the weekends and earn money to
(02:47):
start this nonprofit, Storybook Treasures. And so we started about
twelve years ago with two hundred students and now we're
when and we're based in Northern Virginia, so we're based
in in Loudon County. We started with two schools, two
hundred students, one school in Loudon County, Sugarland Elementary, and
(03:08):
another school in Florida. And now we're fifteen thousand students
across ten different states. And the growth it's been incredible
growth word of mouth, really just teachers saying, oh, my gosh,
this is incredible. My kids need books and just knowing
the need. You know, we know as educators kids are
(03:31):
coming to us. They're not being read to. They don't
have books at home. Families aren't engaged in reading with
with their children.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
They don't know that.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
You know, we all have books in our hearts that
we know when we love because we were read to,
And the children are coming to us now, I think electronics,
there's a lot of different things that come into play,
but they don't have books in their hearts. So when
we're trying to teach them how to read, it's hard.
Reading it's hard, and if you don't have experience or motivation,
(04:04):
it becomes very a big challenge, you know, to teach
children how to read. But once they have experience with books,
that is a game changer. And a lot of times
I think about playing an instrument. You know, when you
learn how to play an instrument for the first time
and say it's piano, it's hard, it's challenging, it takes
a lot of lot of practice. But as soon as
(04:25):
you get a piece of music that you know, all
of a sudden, it's a game changer. All of a sudden,
you're playing at a level that you shouldn't be because
you're not at that level yet. But because you know
the tune, because you know the words to the song,
all of a sudden, you have motivation, you have excitement,
and you can't wait to play that piece of music,
(04:46):
and also to share what you've learned it to say.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh my gosh, listen to this, listen to what I
can play.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And it's almost the same thing with books and putting
books in the hands of kids.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
We see that same dynamic.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Well, I appreciate your passion and your enthusiasm, and I
think we learned in the series and the hundreds of
interviews that we've done on community d C Denise that
you know, it's one thing to have the experience that
you do in the field that you're in, but then
say you're going to start a nonprofit and actually do
it and execute it. And I know you know how
hard it is, but the growth over the last decade
(05:17):
plus has been extraordinary. Let's do this because I know
this is really important, especially to our listeners, to grasp
what Storybook Treasures is doing. What is your mission and
your vision for the nonprofit?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So so our mission is putting books on the hands
of children who need them the most. So we typically
work with schools Title Win schools, so the highest poverty schools.
That's who we typically will work with. And what we
do from there is once we have connect with with
a school and Fundy of course, you know, Fundy is
a major piece of this. You know, it takes money
(05:50):
for any nonprofit to fulfill their mission. So so sometimes
schools will buy the program from us. Sometimes we'll have
a grant, or sometimes we'll have a donor comes in
that wants to support a school, and and then and
then sometimes we'll have donations as well. And then once
we connect with that school, the next thing we do
is we provide professional development because we want the teachers
(06:11):
to know what materials they're getting, how the program works,
because we want to see a return on the investment.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We don't just want to give books.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And great materials to schools and to teachers without them
understanding the impact and and and that is a big,
big thing for us, is to make sure that we
are seeing that return, that we're seeing parents more engaged
in reading with their kids at home, at children who
are building their home libraries that actually have books that
(06:39):
they can read and access in their homes that are
readily available to them. And and then also having that
professional development piece because we know when we go in
and we support our teachers, we're giving them skills and
techniques and strategies that they'll have for the rest of
their career.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
So whether story about treasures can con we always hope
it continues.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
But whether it continues or not, we know that those
skills and those strategies are with them forever and that
will be touching so many more children throughout their career.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Agreed, Denise, You've been an educator for a long time
and I'm sure you've got your opinions, and this could
be a very long conversation, but if you can maybe
give us a synopsis, because you've been an educator for
so long and for decades, what happened when it came
to reading in books to where it was and you
noticed there was an inherent problem and that's where you
came in and started a problem solved both what happened
(07:32):
with books, especially getting in schools and giving them in
children's hands.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Yeah, I think that technology has has has absorbed some
of that time. So you know, putty and COVID was
a big issue too. When we took every we gave
every child basically a laptop in our.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
School division pre K all the way up to high school.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And so when you have technology and devices, I think
that then your interests become something different.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I think with with.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Younger children that read aloud is so critical, and having
books in the hands and being able to sit with
some it's an experience.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Being able to set someone's.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Lap, or being able to be part of a classroom
where every child has exposure to to that same book
at the same time is such a critical component.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And I know that.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You know that right now our nations in a literacy crisis.
You have forty percent of children in Virginia are not
reading on crane level. And that's not just Virginia, that's nationwide,
and and there's a I believe that there's a lot
of reasons for that. I think that you know, we
have gone through some curriculum changes and and I know
(08:43):
that one thing that has been prevalent and been talked
about a lot is the Lucy Cowkins curriculum that many
many school districts we're utilizing, and and even in Loudon
County one thing that that that addressed was our falling
liberty scores. We did our own internal evaluation to see
(09:06):
are our materials and curriculum effective and and after that study,
what came back was they are ineffective and children aren't
learning to read. And I believe that that has become
part of that national problem where forty percent of our
kids aren't reading. So that's part of it curriculum, But
the other part of it is is books are expensive. Parents,
(09:29):
especially in high poverty neighborhoods, they're not buying books for
their children. They're not bringing their children to the library.
They just don't have time. They're busy working and they're
trying to make a living and they don't they maybe
never have experience to read aloud. And the importance of
that and connecting, you know, books with family and and
I think that that that contributes also to the problem.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
You know, if kids don't have books at home, if.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
They're if they don't have the experience. Kids are kids,
they're not going to want to do it. I want
to do hard things. And then how do you motivate
them to do you know, to get engaged and to
get excited about books and so what we have seen
with storybook Treasures and any teacher in general. I mean,
as soon as you start reading a book to children,
(10:16):
all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
There's a calmness in the classroom. All of a sudden.
Kids are paying attention and and they want more.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
And so if you're reading a chapter book and you
stop at a certain chapter, you know, the kids can't
wait for that next time. When when when you read
that book aloud again and there and there's something I
think really calming and soothing too about being read to
and then going back and be able to reread you know,
certain parts and experience that book.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Over and over.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Agreed, And as a parent of a now a twenty
three year old, I still have very fond memories of
reading to my daughter for many years, and I also
remember the books too. And you're right, it's it's an
imprint on the parents and the children when it comes
to reading. And it's a very special, very more private
time that you have with your children if you're going
to be able to do that. So you're just enhancing that.
Before we get an opportunity to meet your first recipient
(11:09):
of the Teacher of the Year and Carolyn O'Neill from
Park Dge Elementary in Stafford, Virginia, and why you chose her,
And I'll let you introduce that in just a moment, Denise.
I love to talk about feedback that you're getting from
some of the schools, the faculties and the parents as
you have these relationships. I imagine it's glowing. But can
you maybe share a story with us or some of
the feedback that you're getting as you build these relationships.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
No, And you know that's that's the thing that really
keeps me going and keeps me motivated. I know that
I've had I've had people say, you know, well, what
motivates you?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, we see, we see you with your tax returning.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
You don't have a salary, So what motivates you to
do what you're doing? And it really is that connection
and and and seeing a difference of making a difference
in the lives of children and families and and so
we have had tons of feedback where where families are saying,
you know, I don't I can't afford books. This program
(12:03):
has helped me be able to share books with my
kids and to have and have books at home, and
and they've they've said that, you know, my child is
teaching me how to read because I don't know how
to read. The English is not my first language, and
so I don't know how to read, and and these
books are helping me learn how to read. But it's
also helping siblings learn how to read, because when when
(12:27):
the child has these books, they're just so they know
these books inside and out, and and when they bring
them home, they're so excited and they want to engage
with their families and with with siblings too, and and
and so that is really powerful when you hear that
that these books and this program is helping, you know,
not just the child that that we're directly servicing how
(12:49):
to read, but also siblings, an extended family, and and
some of the feedback from teachers are we've heard that
I can't teach without this program.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Now we're right point.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
To that's a lovely compliment. Yeah, that's lovely. Yeah, that's
a that's a real big deal. Well you know too,
And we'll talk about this with Carolyn just a little bit.
But listen, you don't have to be in the industry
to know that they have limited resources and funds and
that's where you come in so I'm sure you just
so appreciated that you can have these partnerships, right.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And and and you know, and and and that's part
of it too, is that, you know, we wish we
could reach out to so many more, but funding.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Is always, you know, the thing that holds us back.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know, every school would love to have this program,
but how do we fund it? And and and this
year it's been especially challenging with with some of the
budget constraints that the schools have been faced with, and
and and some of the cuts and things like that.
So so this year will be especially challenging for schools,
(13:49):
and we're just grateful that we have, you know, donors
and other partners that help support.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
As well well good and we're going to handle that.
On the other side of speaking with Carolyn, because I
heard has an megaphone for you, So hopefully we're going
to get some listeners that get excited about what you
and your team are doing that they can make donations,
how to do that, and how to be partners, whether
it's a small meetingum large business, or they just want
to make a one time donation or do it regularly
with you, or even donate books too. Because I know
a lot of people have held on the books for
(14:16):
a long time, and I know you take that as well.
So let's do this. You have your first recipient of
Teacher of the Year and it's Carolyn O'Neill from Stafford,
Virginia Parkridge Elementary thousand dollars, which is really huge on
your part to put that together. We'll chat with her
about receiving it and all the things that come with that.
But why did you choose her?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah? So so well, I don't know if you know,
but I actually was a lot in County, Washington Post
Teacher of the Year in twenty eighteen, and I knew
after that experience, I knew how important it really is
just to highlight teachers. Teachers don't get the recognition that
they need. And I was just so in awe that
(14:57):
they choose me. You know, all of the the applicants.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
That they had.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
We went to a dinner and we were able to
hear highlights from every single one of the of the applicants.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
During during the time when I.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Was selected, and I just knew in my heart, I'm like, wow,
I'm like, when I have the capacity, I want to
make sure that storybook Treasures has a Teacher of the
Year and so so the first time that again, like
you said, you know, I'm an educator. I know a
whole lot about education, and then you go into the
nonprofit space, that's a learning process.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
You have to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
It's a whole different fees and it's the same thing
with doing an award.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It sounds easy enough, but we had.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
To jump through a few So so I'm just so
grateful for my team, Kim an Alley, because they really
helped pull this together.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
I mean, it was not an.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Easy feed and and to be able to market this out.
And so what we did is we did a nationwide,
a nationwide outreach for a Storybook Treasure Teacher of the Year.
And it didn't have to be anyone that was using
our program. It could be any teacher that's doing amazing
things with children and and with with Carolyn, you know.
(16:06):
And I was not on the judging panel, so that
was not part.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I did not select her.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
But but it's so wonderful to have Carolyn be the
first recipient because she has been with Storyborg Treasures for
for several several years and and and she started out
at at one school which We connected with her through
the Decca at one of our local high school.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
So the Decca Decca Team a high school organization.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
They're the ones who said, hey, you know, we have
a school that we would like to help support, and
together they used our Storybok Treasures as their platform for
a competition.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And and then we connected.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
With Carolyn O'Neill and and through Grant we we were
able to start our first program with her, and she
fell in love. And I remember meeting with her the
first time, and she was like, what is this? And
every time I would tell her more and more, she
would just light up. She's like, oh my gosh, this
is amazing, Oh my gosh, Like this is fantastic. And
she was really like, You're going to give all of
(17:11):
my kids books and and I'm going to get a lesson.
I'm like yes, and and so that was our first
meeting and then and then it's it's just grown from there.
She changed from from that school district to a to
a different school district to Stafford County and a Parkerrage Elementary,
and we continued working with her and and then when
when our judges gave us the winner, I cried. I
(17:37):
just knew, you know, she's just such a special teacher
and such a special educator, and and and not only that,
she believes in storybook Treasures and and when in the
application there was a letter that was written by her colleagues,
of course she had to present to the application her
impact on literacy and and to me, I don't think our.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Judges could have picked a better recipient.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
God standing, God standing. I can see how excited you
we're with giving that inaugural award. And this is a
great segue, so here's my conversation with Carolyn O'Neill right now.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Good morning, Carolyn, Good morning Dennis.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Congratulations on winning the inaugural award as Teacher of the
Year for Storybook Treasures. I imagine that you're honored, maybe surprised.
I don't know we can talk about that, but congratulations.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Thank you so much. Yes, I was very surprised.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Tell me about what this award means to you. I
know there's one thousand dollars. It's always cool when teachers
and schools get money. That's always a big bonus. But
what does it mean to you?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Just the involvement with storybout Treasures has been amazing and
such an experience to go through and then to be
acknowledged as someone that does well with it was extra
special and it was wonderful. They did the award in
front of the whole school during the kindergarten graduation ceremony,
(18:57):
our celebration ceremony, and I actually gave back, even though
it was a wonderful amount. I gave some of that
back to Storybook Treasures because I really believe in this
program and wanted to help.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Keep it going, and it was just extra special.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
And then I put the rest into classroom supplies and
took my family out to dinner.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That is wonderful. I love that. So everybody wins. And
you paid it back forward too, so that is wonderful.
You know, I'd love to hear your opinion, because you know,
how we all feel about teachers, especially on community seeing
this program, is that you're underpaid, your overworked, blah blah blah.
You know the story. But we love what you do,
and I know you work with kindergartens, which is a
(19:37):
real special age. But reading is so important and we've
heard over the years about you know, how people aren't
reading books as much as it used to tell me
about what Storybook Treasures means to you, this teacher of
the year, your children and the age that you teach.
I know that could be its own podcast for thirty minutes,
but tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Yes, kindergarteners come in, some from preschool, some not, some
head start. It's just all kinds of backgrounds, and we
give them a survey at the beginning of the year
the parents that they fill out and tell. One of
the questions is how many books do you have at home?
And some of them have the area zero to five checked.
(20:17):
So many of the students at this school, or my
previous school especially it didn't have a home library. And
so Storybook Treasures brings classic and also current books that
are just wonderful and engaging to the home. So we
teach it for a week in school and with those
(20:39):
five year olds, they end up experts on the book
on the standards. It's hitting every one of our lessons
hits either art or science, different types of literacy lessons,
all combined to make the students experts by the end.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Of the week the best for the classroom use.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
The program is set up using PowerPoint slides and it
just walks the teachers in the class right through.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
It's super engaging.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
The students when they see it's a storybook treasures week
gets so excited and the treasure, especially at the end
of the week when they get to take home, really
seals the deal for them. The boxes that Denise sends
to us, huge boxes, six full of every kind of supply,
and the kids you would think it was their birthday
(21:30):
the way they react when these supplies come in. Once
they realize after the first bat that we do what's coming.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
It enhances any literacy program. But I mean, I wish
we just had it every day. But yeah, it's just amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well, that's huge, And I also would love to hear
about feedback. And I don't know how much you've heard
from the faculty and parents on this award, and I know,
like everybody else and you guys know it. Intimately, we're
talking to Denise about this about she's feeling a really
low gap that's missing probably in every school in America,
about more books, more reading, having these kind of partnerships.
What kind of feedback are you getting from everybody?
Speaker 4 (22:08):
My team and.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
My team at my other school too loved it and
said that they notice because the students are so engaged,
and because the lessons bring out student discourse and ways
to teach that to five year olds. How do you
have a conversation about your opinion or about your connection?
And it's completely built into the lessons, and that teaches
(22:33):
these little kids to engage with each other about that.
And then the parents see that at home because there's
even a parent bookmark and a bilingual one.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
For parents to be able to talk to their children
about it.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
And then we hear from parents all the time how
kids are revisiting this book throughout the year years later.
It's just fantastic. And everyone gets a shirt, a T
shirt that says story about Treasures. I love that cute graphic.
Kids wear them forever because you know, for years kindergarten,
first grade, second grade, and they're so proud of it.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
And when they see any of the kindergarten.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Teachers in the hall, you know, they're big smiles and
thumbs up, like, yep, I'm still rocking Storybook Treasures.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Well, they're so proud.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
That's huge. Well, listen, I'm glad you were featured on
this program but also acknowledged as Teacher of the Year
for Storybook treasures in this inaugural Teacher of the Year award.
And I know you know this, and so does Denise.
There are thousands of Carolyn's out there that are working
their tails off but needing that extra help and that
you're acknowledged, and the kids and the parents and the
faculty when and the school too, it's just wonderful. So
(23:37):
congratulations on the award, and thank you so much for
joining us at Community DC. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Thank you so much well, Denise.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I can see why you chose Carolyn. She is full
of energy. She has to work with those little ones,
the kindergarteners, But I could see, like when you won
your award, how special it meant to her, the faculty,
the school to be acknowledged, the thousand dollars and her
generosity to give little money back, which is really cool.
But we also talked with her about that whole in
(24:04):
the industry where you come in to get books where
they don't have them for the kids and to start
reading early age, and how it can really profoundly change
for the better a classroom but also a school in general.
And congratulations on giving that out because, as you mentioned,
just a few minutes ago. It's hard to put these
things together to give a teacher for the year word
no matter what you're doing, but I can see why
(24:26):
you gave it to Carolyn. Very special stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well, thank you, and she is she's just so wonderful,
and you know, just her passion and her energy in
the classroom and hearing.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I think to me some of the.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Best feedback you can have as an educators when you're
colleagues are acknowledging you know what a great impact you
have on you.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Know, the students, the school and also them and so so.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Part of her application packet she had numerous accolades from
her colleagues, which we're just so wonderful to read through.
She is just a dynamic teacher and believe so strongly
in literacy and making sure that kids at an early
level can read, because it truly sets that foundation of education.
You know, if kids can read, then they're going to
(25:16):
be able to access all the other opportunities available.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, that's well said, and not that you needed to
solidify your choice from the people that did that, but
you can see why she wanted and that's wonderful. So
congratulations on giving that inaugural War to Carolyn O'Neil, I
do want to do this because we only have a
handful of minutes left, and I know that funding is
a real big deal. I want to find out right
now how you're funded and how people can be a
part of it. We have small, medium, large businesses that
(25:42):
listen to this program all the time to see if
they can help nonprofits out there. So a how are
you funded? And then how can people out there help
you in Storybook Treasures.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
So we're always looking for partnerships and we're always looking
for donations to support our neediest schools, and so a
lot of times our partners they well, they'll have a
specific school that they want to work with, and then
we want to give all of those partners businesses recognition
and thanks for supporting those schools.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
So that's one way.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Of course, we always take donations to support our mission, and.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
That could be done on our website.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
So our website is it really gives great information about
Storybook Treasurers and what we do on our mission and
some of the schools that we work with, and that's
at Storybook Treasures Dot work.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
And then let's do this for a listeners. So we're
very clear about it, because I know you have a
net where you've spread about what kind of areas you
live in. So how big is the net of schools
that you work with to make sure that when we
get people that want to reach out to you, that
they kind of know the area they're working with.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Yeah, so we can actually work with any school and
so we're Northern Virginia based, but we work with schools
all the way out on Alaska understanding and that's that's
the beauty.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Of this program.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And you know, we we can go to any school
anywhere in the nation and and and part of the
process would be connecting with the school making sure that
we have the funding to support the program. And then
once we have that, then we work directly with the
schools and the teachers to make sure that they understand
what they're getting with the program is all about, and
(27:25):
then how how they can make that impact with.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Their with their children out Standing. I'm going to have
you give the website one more time, but before we
do that, are there any events, fundraisers, or anything else
that people know about that's coming up? I know what
kind of it's a year round thing for you and
all the people you work with. But is there anything
coming up that we need to kind of make sure
that we put the spotlight on.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So that's part of our my scrappy teacher business that
we we have. We host packing events to pack our
materials with local high schools.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
So our next packing event is in December.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So it's December eighth at Briarwoods High School and that's
in Lodin County and it's typically after school, so we'll
we'll have about fifty volunteers student volunteers that come out.
It's usually the NHS and also it's the Key Club
and other clubs where students look for volunteer hours. So
(28:20):
we'll do a packing about right at the school so
the students can receive volunteer hours, they learned a little
bit about nonprofit work, they learn a little bit about literacy,
and then they pack our all of our materials for us.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
And you know, making the kids work for a living,
good job. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And then the other thing is that we're willing to
too out to businesses to do partner volunteer partner events
with businesses too, So that's another opportunity as well, so
that an organization can get to know storybook treasures a
little bit more about what we do and then and
then get their hands dirty with with packing our books
and kids.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
I love it. Let's give the website one more time, Denise.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Yeah, so that's storybook Treasures dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It's Tanning listen. It's great to see and talk with
you again. And it really was nice to chat with
Carolyn O'Neil. I know that you're thrilled to she'se your
inaugural Teacher of the Year. Just very cool. You're doing
great work. I know it's hard sometimes, but you're changing
lives out there, and that's all you can ask when
it comes to nonprofits that we talk to. So thank
you so much. Love to have you back anytime. Continue success,
(29:26):
and we really appreciate you joining us on Community DC great.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Don't let biased
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Council
Good morning, and welcome to another edition of Community DC.
I'm your host Tennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome back
to the program Denise Corbo. She is the founder of
Storybook Treasures, a local, nonprofit school based literacy program that
provides books, lesson plans, and other materials to pre k
through third grade students to foster love of reading and
build their home libraries. The program provides students with books,
(00:27):
a corresponding toy, and a tote bag to take home.
For teachers, it offers curated lesson plans and workbooks, and
parents receive bilingual resources to support reading at home. The
program prioritizes economically disadvantaged communities, aiming to improve literacy skills
and academic success for students. We'll also visit with Storybook
Treasures inaugural Teacher of the Year, Caroline O'Neill, who teaches
(00:49):
kindergarten at Park Ridge Elementary in Stafford, Virginia. Here's my
conversation with Denise. I hope you enjoy the conversation as
much as I did.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Good morning, Denise, Hi, Good morning Dennis.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
It's been a well since we had you on, and
we always have a lot of new listeners on Community DC,
and I would just like you to talk about Storybook Treasures,
about what it is and why you started it, how
long it's been around. Can you tell us about the
origin story please?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah? Sure.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
So Storybook Treasures actually started in my kindergarten classrooms. So
I've been a kindergarten teacher for over thirty years, and
in about fifteen years ago, when standards changed from kindergartens
a place to learn about the alphabet and socialization to
you better have them reading, I knew I needed to
change the way that I did business, and so I
(01:35):
created a program based on best practices, trying to get
all the children excited about reading, excited about books, putting
books in their hands, and also getting parents engaged with
the process, because we know that that's such an important
element to ensure that parents are reading and engaging with
kids at home. And then at the end of the year,
every one of my students got a perfect score on
(01:56):
their literacy test. Nice And so I went to my
husband and I said, you know, I need to start
a nonprofit. I need to share this out with my friends.
My colleagues need this, you know, families need this, children
need this, And I really want to start a nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
And he looked at me and he said, who's money
you're going to use for that? And I said our money,
and yeah, he kind of checked, just like you're doing now.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
And he's like, uh, you know you're a teacher, right,
He's like, there's no money to start a nonprofit or
a business. And I just always know that I have
a plan and God tends to have a bigger plan.
And so I came back to him about two weeks
later and I said, guess what I'm going to do.
I took on a job driving a limousine and I'm
going to work on the weekends and earn money to
(02:47):
start this nonprofit, Storybook Treasures. And so we started about
twelve years ago with two hundred students and now we're
when and we're based in Northern Virginia, so we're based
in in Loudon County. We started with two schools, two
hundred students, one school in Loudon County, Sugarland Elementary, and
(03:08):
another school in Florida. And now we're fifteen thousand students
across ten different states. And the growth it's been incredible
growth word of mouth, really just teachers saying, oh, my gosh,
this is incredible. My kids need books and just knowing
the need. You know, we know as educators kids are
(03:31):
coming to us. They're not being read to. They don't
have books at home. Families aren't engaged in reading with
with their children.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
They don't know that.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
You know, we all have books in our hearts that
we know when we love because we were read to,
And the children are coming to us now, I think electronics,
there's a lot of different things that come into play,
but they don't have books in their hearts. So when
we're trying to teach them how to read, it's hard.
Reading it's hard, and if you don't have experience or motivation,
(04:04):
it becomes very a big challenge, you know, to teach
children how to read. But once they have experience with books,
that is a game changer. And a lot of times
I think about playing an instrument. You know, when you
learn how to play an instrument for the first time
and say it's piano, it's hard, it's challenging, it takes
a lot of lot of practice. But as soon as
(04:25):
you get a piece of music that you know, all
of a sudden, it's a game changer. All of a sudden,
you're playing at a level that you shouldn't be because
you're not at that level yet. But because you know
the tune, because you know the words to the song,
all of a sudden, you have motivation, you have excitement,
and you can't wait to play that piece of music,
(04:46):
and also to share what you've learned it to say.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh my gosh, listen to this, listen to what I
can play.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And it's almost the same thing with books and putting
books in the hands of kids.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
We see that same dynamic.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Well, I appreciate your passion and your enthusiasm, and I
think we learned in the series and the hundreds of
interviews that we've done on community d C Denise that
you know, it's one thing to have the experience that
you do in the field that you're in, but then
say you're going to start a nonprofit and actually do
it and execute it. And I know you know how
hard it is, but the growth over the last decade
(05:17):
plus has been extraordinary. Let's do this because I know
this is really important, especially to our listeners, to grasp
what Storybook Treasures is doing. What is your mission and
your vision for the nonprofit?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So so our mission is putting books on the hands
of children who need them the most. So we typically
work with schools Title Win schools, so the highest poverty schools.
That's who we typically will work with. And what we
do from there is once we have connect with with
a school and Fundy of course, you know, Fundy is
a major piece of this. You know, it takes money
(05:50):
for any nonprofit to fulfill their mission. So so sometimes
schools will buy the program from us. Sometimes we'll have
a grant, or sometimes we'll have a donor comes in
that wants to support a school, and and then and
then sometimes we'll have donations as well. And then once
we connect with that school, the next thing we do
is we provide professional development because we want the teachers
(06:11):
to know what materials they're getting, how the program works,
because we want to see a return on the investment.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We don't just want to give books.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And great materials to schools and to teachers without them
understanding the impact and and and that is a big,
big thing for us, is to make sure that we
are seeing that return, that we're seeing parents more engaged
in reading with their kids at home, at children who
are building their home libraries that actually have books that
(06:39):
they can read and access in their homes that are
readily available to them. And and then also having that
professional development piece because we know when we go in
and we support our teachers, we're giving them skills and
techniques and strategies that they'll have for the rest of
their career.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
So whether story about treasures can con we always hope
it continues.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
But whether it continues or not, we know that those
skills and those strategies are with them forever and that
will be touching so many more children throughout their career.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Agreed, Denise, You've been an educator for a long time
and I'm sure you've got your opinions, and this could
be a very long conversation, but if you can maybe
give us a synopsis, because you've been an educator for
so long and for decades, what happened when it came
to reading in books to where it was and you
noticed there was an inherent problem and that's where you
came in and started a problem solved both what happened
(07:32):
with books, especially getting in schools and giving them in
children's hands.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Yeah, I think that technology has has has absorbed some
of that time. So you know, putty and COVID was
a big issue too. When we took every we gave
every child basically a laptop in our.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
School division pre K all the way up to high school.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And so when you have technology and devices, I think
that then your interests become something different.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I think with with.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Younger children that read aloud is so critical, and having
books in the hands and being able to sit with
some it's an experience.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Being able to set someone's.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Lap, or being able to be part of a classroom
where every child has exposure to to that same book
at the same time is such a critical component.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And I know that.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You know that right now our nations in a literacy crisis.
You have forty percent of children in Virginia are not
reading on crane level. And that's not just Virginia, that's nationwide,
and and there's a I believe that there's a lot
of reasons for that. I think that you know, we
have gone through some curriculum changes and and I know
(08:43):
that one thing that has been prevalent and been talked
about a lot is the Lucy Cowkins curriculum that many
many school districts we're utilizing, and and even in Loudon
County one thing that that that addressed was our falling
liberty scores. We did our own internal evaluation to see
(09:06):
are our materials and curriculum effective and and after that study,
what came back was they are ineffective and children aren't
learning to read. And I believe that that has become
part of that national problem where forty percent of our
kids aren't reading. So that's part of it curriculum, But
the other part of it is is books are expensive. Parents,
(09:29):
especially in high poverty neighborhoods, they're not buying books for
their children. They're not bringing their children to the library.
They just don't have time. They're busy working and they're
trying to make a living and they don't they maybe
never have experience to read aloud. And the importance of
that and connecting, you know, books with family and and
I think that that that contributes also to the problem.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
You know, if kids don't have books at home, if.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
They're if they don't have the experience. Kids are kids,
they're not going to want to do it. I want
to do hard things. And then how do you motivate
them to do you know, to get engaged and to
get excited about books and so what we have seen
with storybook Treasures and any teacher in general. I mean,
as soon as you start reading a book to children,
(10:16):
all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
There's a calmness in the classroom. All of a sudden.
Kids are paying attention and and they want more.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
And so if you're reading a chapter book and you
stop at a certain chapter, you know, the kids can't
wait for that next time. When when when you read
that book aloud again and there and there's something I
think really calming and soothing too about being read to
and then going back and be able to reread you know,
certain parts and experience that book.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Over and over.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Agreed, And as a parent of a now a twenty
three year old, I still have very fond memories of
reading to my daughter for many years, and I also
remember the books too. And you're right, it's it's an
imprint on the parents and the children when it comes
to reading. And it's a very special, very more private
time that you have with your children if you're going
to be able to do that. So you're just enhancing that.
Before we get an opportunity to meet your first recipient
(11:09):
of the Teacher of the Year and Carolyn O'Neill from
Park Dge Elementary in Stafford, Virginia, and why you chose her,
And I'll let you introduce that in just a moment, Denise.
I love to talk about feedback that you're getting from
some of the schools, the faculties and the parents as
you have these relationships. I imagine it's glowing. But can
you maybe share a story with us or some of
the feedback that you're getting as you build these relationships.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
No, And you know that's that's the thing that really
keeps me going and keeps me motivated. I know that
I've had I've had people say, you know, well, what
motivates you?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, we see, we see you with your tax returning.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
You don't have a salary, So what motivates you to
do what you're doing? And it really is that connection
and and and seeing a difference of making a difference
in the lives of children and families and and so
we have had tons of feedback where where families are saying,
you know, I don't I can't afford books. This program
(12:03):
has helped me be able to share books with my
kids and to have and have books at home, and
and they've they've said that, you know, my child is
teaching me how to read because I don't know how
to read. The English is not my first language, and
so I don't know how to read, and and these
books are helping me learn how to read. But it's
also helping siblings learn how to read, because when when
(12:27):
the child has these books, they're just so they know
these books inside and out, and and when they bring
them home, they're so excited and they want to engage
with their families and with with siblings too, and and
and so that is really powerful when you hear that
that these books and this program is helping, you know,
not just the child that that we're directly servicing how
(12:49):
to read, but also siblings, an extended family, and and
some of the feedback from teachers are we've heard that
I can't teach without this program.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Now we're right point.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
To that's a lovely compliment. Yeah, that's lovely. Yeah, that's
a that's a real big deal. Well you know too,
And we'll talk about this with Carolyn just a little bit.
But listen, you don't have to be in the industry
to know that they have limited resources and funds and
that's where you come in so I'm sure you just
so appreciated that you can have these partnerships, right.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And and and you know, and and and that's part
of it too, is that, you know, we wish we
could reach out to so many more, but funding.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Is always, you know, the thing that holds us back.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know, every school would love to have this program,
but how do we fund it? And and and this
year it's been especially challenging with with some of the
budget constraints that the schools have been faced with, and
and and some of the cuts and things like that.
So so this year will be especially challenging for schools,
(13:49):
and we're just grateful that we have, you know, donors
and other partners that help support.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
As well well good and we're going to handle that.
On the other side of speaking with Carolyn, because I
heard has an megaphone for you, So hopefully we're going
to get some listeners that get excited about what you
and your team are doing that they can make donations,
how to do that, and how to be partners, whether
it's a small meetingum large business, or they just want
to make a one time donation or do it regularly
with you, or even donate books too. Because I know
a lot of people have held on the books for
(14:16):
a long time, and I know you take that as well.
So let's do this. You have your first recipient of
Teacher of the Year and it's Carolyn O'Neill from Stafford,
Virginia Parkridge Elementary thousand dollars, which is really huge on
your part to put that together. We'll chat with her
about receiving it and all the things that come with that.
But why did you choose her?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah? So so well, I don't know if you know,
but I actually was a lot in County, Washington Post
Teacher of the Year in twenty eighteen, and I knew
after that experience, I knew how important it really is
just to highlight teachers. Teachers don't get the recognition that
they need. And I was just so in awe that
(14:57):
they choose me. You know, all of the the applicants.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
That they had.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
We went to a dinner and we were able to
hear highlights from every single one of the of the applicants.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
During during the time when I.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Was selected, and I just knew in my heart, I'm like, wow,
I'm like, when I have the capacity, I want to
make sure that storybook Treasures has a Teacher of the
Year and so so the first time that again, like
you said, you know, I'm an educator. I know a
whole lot about education, and then you go into the
nonprofit space, that's a learning process.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
You have to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
It's a whole different fees and it's the same thing
with doing an award.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It sounds easy enough, but we had.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
To jump through a few So so I'm just so
grateful for my team, Kim an Alley, because they really
helped pull this together.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
I mean, it was not an.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Easy feed and and to be able to market this out.
And so what we did is we did a nationwide,
a nationwide outreach for a Storybook Treasure Teacher of the Year.
And it didn't have to be anyone that was using
our program. It could be any teacher that's doing amazing
things with children and and with with Carolyn, you know.
(16:06):
And I was not on the judging panel, so that
was not part.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I did not select her.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
But but it's so wonderful to have Carolyn be the
first recipient because she has been with Storyborg Treasures for
for several several years and and and she started out
at at one school which We connected with her through
the Decca at one of our local high school.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
So the Decca Decca Team a high school organization.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
They're the ones who said, hey, you know, we have
a school that we would like to help support, and
together they used our Storybok Treasures as their platform for
a competition.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And and then we connected.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
With Carolyn O'Neill and and through Grant we we were
able to start our first program with her, and she
fell in love. And I remember meeting with her the
first time, and she was like, what is this? And
every time I would tell her more and more, she
would just light up. She's like, oh my gosh, this
is amazing, Oh my gosh, Like this is fantastic. And
she was really like, You're going to give all of
(17:11):
my kids books and and I'm going to get a lesson.
I'm like yes, and and so that was our first
meeting and then and then it's it's just grown from there.
She changed from from that school district to a to
a different school district to Stafford County and a Parkerrage Elementary,
and we continued working with her and and then when
when our judges gave us the winner, I cried. I
(17:37):
just knew, you know, she's just such a special teacher
and such a special educator, and and and not only that,
she believes in storybook Treasures and and when in the
application there was a letter that was written by her colleagues,
of course she had to present to the application her
impact on literacy and and to me, I don't think our.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Judges could have picked a better recipient.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
God standing, God standing. I can see how excited you
we're with giving that inaugural award. And this is a
great segue, so here's my conversation with Carolyn O'Neill right now.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Good morning, Carolyn, Good morning Dennis.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Congratulations on winning the inaugural award as Teacher of the
Year for Storybook Treasures. I imagine that you're honored, maybe surprised.
I don't know we can talk about that, but congratulations.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Thank you so much. Yes, I was very surprised.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Tell me about what this award means to you. I
know there's one thousand dollars. It's always cool when teachers
and schools get money. That's always a big bonus. But
what does it mean to you?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Just the involvement with storybout Treasures has been amazing and
such an experience to go through and then to be
acknowledged as someone that does well with it was extra
special and it was wonderful. They did the award in
front of the whole school during the kindergarten graduation ceremony,
(18:57):
our celebration ceremony, and I actually gave back, even though
it was a wonderful amount. I gave some of that
back to Storybook Treasures because I really believe in this
program and wanted to help.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Keep it going, and it was just extra special.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
And then I put the rest into classroom supplies and
took my family out to dinner.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That is wonderful. I love that. So everybody wins. And
you paid it back forward too, so that is wonderful.
You know, I'd love to hear your opinion, because you know,
how we all feel about teachers, especially on community seeing
this program, is that you're underpaid, your overworked, blah blah blah.
You know the story. But we love what you do,
and I know you work with kindergartens, which is a
(19:37):
real special age. But reading is so important and we've
heard over the years about you know, how people aren't
reading books as much as it used to tell me
about what Storybook Treasures means to you, this teacher of
the year, your children and the age that you teach.
I know that could be its own podcast for thirty minutes,
but tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Yes, kindergarteners come in, some from preschool, some not, some
head start. It's just all kinds of backgrounds, and we
give them a survey at the beginning of the year
the parents that they fill out and tell. One of
the questions is how many books do you have at home?
And some of them have the area zero to five checked.
(20:17):
So many of the students at this school, or my
previous school especially it didn't have a home library. And
so Storybook Treasures brings classic and also current books that
are just wonderful and engaging to the home. So we
teach it for a week in school and with those
(20:39):
five year olds, they end up experts on the book
on the standards. It's hitting every one of our lessons
hits either art or science, different types of literacy lessons,
all combined to make the students experts by the end.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Of the week the best for the classroom use.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
The program is set up using PowerPoint slides and it
just walks the teachers in the class right through.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
It's super engaging.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
The students when they see it's a storybook treasures week
gets so excited and the treasure, especially at the end
of the week when they get to take home, really
seals the deal for them. The boxes that Denise sends
to us, huge boxes, six full of every kind of supply,
and the kids you would think it was their birthday
(21:30):
the way they react when these supplies come in. Once
they realize after the first bat that we do what's coming.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
It enhances any literacy program. But I mean, I wish
we just had it every day. But yeah, it's just amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well, that's huge, And I also would love to hear
about feedback. And I don't know how much you've heard
from the faculty and parents on this award, and I know,
like everybody else and you guys know it. Intimately, we're
talking to Denise about this about she's feeling a really
low gap that's missing probably in every school in America,
about more books, more reading, having these kind of partnerships.
What kind of feedback are you getting from everybody?
Speaker 4 (22:08):
My team and.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
My team at my other school too loved it and
said that they notice because the students are so engaged,
and because the lessons bring out student discourse and ways
to teach that to five year olds. How do you
have a conversation about your opinion or about your connection?
And it's completely built into the lessons, and that teaches
(22:33):
these little kids to engage with each other about that.
And then the parents see that at home because there's
even a parent bookmark and a bilingual one.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
For parents to be able to talk to their children
about it.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
And then we hear from parents all the time how
kids are revisiting this book throughout the year years later.
It's just fantastic. And everyone gets a shirt, a T
shirt that says story about Treasures. I love that cute graphic.
Kids wear them forever because you know, for years kindergarten,
first grade, second grade, and they're so proud of it.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
And when they see any of the kindergarten.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Teachers in the hall, you know, they're big smiles and
thumbs up, like, yep, I'm still rocking Storybook Treasures.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Well, they're so proud.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
That's huge. Well, listen, I'm glad you were featured on
this program but also acknowledged as Teacher of the Year
for Storybook treasures in this inaugural Teacher of the Year award.
And I know you know this, and so does Denise.
There are thousands of Carolyn's out there that are working
their tails off but needing that extra help and that
you're acknowledged, and the kids and the parents and the
faculty when and the school too, it's just wonderful. So
(23:37):
congratulations on the award, and thank you so much for
joining us at Community DC. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Thank you so much well, Denise.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I can see why you chose Carolyn. She is full
of energy. She has to work with those little ones,
the kindergarteners, But I could see, like when you won
your award, how special it meant to her, the faculty,
the school to be acknowledged, the thousand dollars and her
generosity to give little money back, which is really cool.
But we also talked with her about that whole in
(24:04):
the industry where you come in to get books where
they don't have them for the kids and to start
reading early age, and how it can really profoundly change
for the better a classroom but also a school in general.
And congratulations on giving that out because, as you mentioned,
just a few minutes ago. It's hard to put these
things together to give a teacher for the year word
no matter what you're doing, but I can see why
(24:26):
you gave it to Carolyn. Very special stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well, thank you, and she is she's just so wonderful,
and you know, just her passion and her energy in
the classroom and hearing.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I think to me some of the.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Best feedback you can have as an educators when you're
colleagues are acknowledging you know what a great impact you
have on you.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Know, the students, the school and also them and so so.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Part of her application packet she had numerous accolades from
her colleagues, which we're just so wonderful to read through.
She is just a dynamic teacher and believe so strongly
in literacy and making sure that kids at an early
level can read, because it truly sets that foundation of education.
You know, if kids can read, then they're going to
(25:16):
be able to access all the other opportunities available.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, that's well said, and not that you needed to
solidify your choice from the people that did that, but
you can see why she wanted and that's wonderful. So
congratulations on giving that inaugural War to Carolyn O'Neil, I
do want to do this because we only have a
handful of minutes left, and I know that funding is
a real big deal. I want to find out right
now how you're funded and how people can be a
part of it. We have small, medium, large businesses that
(25:42):
listen to this program all the time to see if
they can help nonprofits out there. So a how are
you funded? And then how can people out there help
you in Storybook Treasures.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
So we're always looking for partnerships and we're always looking
for donations to support our neediest schools, and so a
lot of times our partners they well, they'll have a
specific school that they want to work with, and then
we want to give all of those partners businesses recognition
and thanks for supporting those schools.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
So that's one way.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Of course, we always take donations to support our mission, and.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
That could be done on our website.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
So our website is it really gives great information about
Storybook Treasurers and what we do on our mission and
some of the schools that we work with, and that's
at Storybook Treasures Dot work.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
And then let's do this for a listeners. So we're
very clear about it, because I know you have a
net where you've spread about what kind of areas you
live in. So how big is the net of schools
that you work with to make sure that when we
get people that want to reach out to you, that
they kind of know the area they're working with.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Yeah, so we can actually work with any school and
so we're Northern Virginia based, but we work with schools
all the way out on Alaska understanding and that's that's
the beauty.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Of this program.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And you know, we we can go to any school
anywhere in the nation and and and part of the
process would be connecting with the school making sure that
we have the funding to support the program. And then
once we have that, then we work directly with the
schools and the teachers to make sure that they understand
what they're getting with the program is all about, and
(27:25):
then how how they can make that impact with.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Their with their children out Standing. I'm going to have
you give the website one more time, but before we
do that, are there any events, fundraisers, or anything else
that people know about that's coming up? I know what
kind of it's a year round thing for you and
all the people you work with. But is there anything
coming up that we need to kind of make sure
that we put the spotlight on.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So that's part of our my scrappy teacher business that
we we have. We host packing events to pack our
materials with local high schools.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
So our next packing event is in December.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So it's December eighth at Briarwoods High School and that's
in Lodin County and it's typically after school, so we'll
we'll have about fifty volunteers student volunteers that come out.
It's usually the NHS and also it's the Key Club
and other clubs where students look for volunteer hours. So
(28:20):
we'll do a packing about right at the school so
the students can receive volunteer hours, they learned a little
bit about nonprofit work, they learn a little bit about literacy,
and then they pack our all of our materials for us.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
And you know, making the kids work for a living,
good job. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And then the other thing is that we're willing to
too out to businesses to do partner volunteer partner events
with businesses too, So that's another opportunity as well, so
that an organization can get to know storybook treasures a
little bit more about what we do and then and
then get their hands dirty with with packing our books
and kids.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
I love it. Let's give the website one more time, Denise.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Yeah, so that's storybook Treasures dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It's Tanning listen. It's great to see and talk with
you again. And it really was nice to chat with
Carolyn O'Neil. I know that you're thrilled to she'se your
inaugural Teacher of the Year. Just very cool. You're doing
great work. I know it's hard sometimes, but you're changing
lives out there, and that's all you can ask when
it comes to nonprofits that we talk to. So thank
you so much. Love to have you back anytime. Continue success,
(29:26):
and we really appreciate you joining us on Community DC great.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Don't let biased
algorithms or degree screens.
Speaker 5 (29:35):
Or exclusive professional networks or stereotypes.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Don't let anything keep you from discovering the half of
the workforce who are stars, workers skilled through alternative rops
rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time to tear the
paper ceiling and see the stars beyond it.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Find out how you can make stars part of your talent.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Strategy at tear Thepaperseiling dot org.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Brought to you by opportunity at work in the AD
Council
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