Advisory Board Home  |   |   

Greater Akron, OH

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, each year First Book distributes millions of free and low-cost books to disadvantaged children and the programs that serve them.

Our local advisory board, First Book-Greater Akron, was established in the fall of 2005. Each year we distribute more than 10,000 books to children of low-income families, but there is still more need than we can currently satisfy. With funding from personal donations and community foundations, we continue to expand our outreach to programs serving children of low-income families in the Greater Akron area.

Access to books is essential to reading development. A recent study found that there is just one book for every 300 children in low-income neighborhoods, compared to 13 books for every one child in middle-income neighborhoods.

First Book-Greater Akron meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome.  Give a book - give a smile. 

Book Grant Recipients

First Book-Greater Akron has given book grants to many programs in the Greater Akron metropolitan area. A typical book grant lasts for a six month period and offers each child in the program a steady diet of books (usually one book per month), all at no cost to the program. Because program administrators select the titles through First Book catalogs, our book grants enable programs — often for the first time — to select books to integrate into curriculum.

The following are some of the organizations that have received book grants from First Book-Greater Akron.

Find out how to Receive Books for your organization.

Local Sponsors and Donors

First Book-Greater Akron is able to provide brand-new, high-quality books to children in our community thanks to the generous financial contributions of  organizations like:

First Book Wants You!  

We are looking for passionate, entrepreneurial people who want to make a difference in their community. Help us get books to kids who need them most. 

Contact Us

You can contact us by sending an email.