Here is a story about an old friend of mine, Jennifer Frances. There is a link to the Pepsi website where you can vote on her Bess the Book Bus tour to receive a $50K grant from Pepsi. If you could take the time to vote and share with some friends I would appreciate it.
Bess the Book Bus Home Page
http://www.bessthebookbus.org/index.php
Tampa, Florida - She calls herself "The Book Lady," and she's making an impact on children's lives in the Bay area and across the nation.
Seven years ago, Jennifer Frances's life was missing something. "I did all the things I thought would make me happy. I bought all the things I thought would make me happy. I achieved all the goals that were suppose to make me happy. Still for some reason something was missing," explains Frances, who is 38.
After some soul searching, she found it in the gift of reading. Frances says, "I was journaling things that I might like to do in the community and be good at this came into my head. She's named after my grandmother Nana Bess."
Bess the Book Bus was born. "I cashed in my small 401K bought a Volkswagon bus, begged everyone I know for books and hit the road," adds Frances. She also traded in her car to buy the first Bess the Book Bus.
Miss Jenn - that's what the kids call her - shares her passion for literacy with students. On this day she's at West Shore Elementary in Tampa where kids are also getting free vision tests and eye glasses sponsored by Transition Optical.
"One in 4 kids have undiagnosed vision problem so there's a great tie in between the quality of vision and performance in the classroom and ability to read," says Dan McLean with Transitions Optical.
McLean says the company plans to join Frances in 2010 on her multi-city tour to educate kids on the importance of eye exams.
Frances will teach them about the benefits of reading, "I grew up without a lot of money. We moved around a lot. Books to me were always a way to explore new places explore new worlds."
The Leto High School graduate and Tampa resident doesn't have to beg for books anymore. Last spring, the CBS Early Show picked her as one of its Early's Angels, she received a new bus from Ford Motors and the donations poured in. "A lot are from grant funding, gently used donations from the community, this is brand new came from a book drive in the community," explains Frances.
She visited 35 states over the summer giving away more than 21,000 books to kids in 45 cities. Her goal this year is to hand out 50,000 books. "I want people to know these kids have as much potential and a lot to give as any other kids no matter their socio or economic status," says Frances. She adds, "All they need is equal access to the same materials all the other kids get and they will achieve the same goals."
Kingston Robinson, 10, explains why he likes to read, "I like to read because you learn new words when you read books."
Myrenna Colon, 11, picked a book for her 3-year-old brother to teach him how to read. She hopes he will like reading as much as she does. "What's fun about reading is making mind movies you can picture stuff in your head," says Myrenna.
Frances says she has scaled back her life to the things she needs. She lives in a one bedroom apartment and works part time jobs busing tables, at a book store or filling in at her old job in apartment leasing. By scaling back Frances she can focus on what she wants to do, "Doing this has taught me there's very little in this world truly important. Interacting with these kids showing them they're valuable has made all the difference in my life."
Here is a link to the CBS Morning Show that talks about Jennifer's project:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/09/earlyshow/main6190465.shtml
Here is a direct link to the Pepsi contest page:
http://www.refresheverything.com/BesstheBookBus
Here is an article that People Magazine did on Jennifer:
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20299008,00.html
Here is a link to the CBS Morning Show that did a story on Jennifer and Bess:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/22/earlyshow/series/main5033544.shtml
Bess the Book Bus Home Page
http://www.bessthebookbus.org/index.php
Tampa, Florida - She calls herself "The Book Lady," and she's making an impact on children's lives in the Bay area and across the nation.
Seven years ago, Jennifer Frances's life was missing something. "I did all the things I thought would make me happy. I bought all the things I thought would make me happy. I achieved all the goals that were suppose to make me happy. Still for some reason something was missing," explains Frances, who is 38.
After some soul searching, she found it in the gift of reading. Frances says, "I was journaling things that I might like to do in the community and be good at this came into my head. She's named after my grandmother Nana Bess."
Bess the Book Bus was born. "I cashed in my small 401K bought a Volkswagon bus, begged everyone I know for books and hit the road," adds Frances. She also traded in her car to buy the first Bess the Book Bus.
Miss Jenn - that's what the kids call her - shares her passion for literacy with students. On this day she's at West Shore Elementary in Tampa where kids are also getting free vision tests and eye glasses sponsored by Transition Optical.
"One in 4 kids have undiagnosed vision problem so there's a great tie in between the quality of vision and performance in the classroom and ability to read," says Dan McLean with Transitions Optical.
McLean says the company plans to join Frances in 2010 on her multi-city tour to educate kids on the importance of eye exams.
Frances will teach them about the benefits of reading, "I grew up without a lot of money. We moved around a lot. Books to me were always a way to explore new places explore new worlds."
The Leto High School graduate and Tampa resident doesn't have to beg for books anymore. Last spring, the CBS Early Show picked her as one of its Early's Angels, she received a new bus from Ford Motors and the donations poured in. "A lot are from grant funding, gently used donations from the community, this is brand new came from a book drive in the community," explains Frances.
She visited 35 states over the summer giving away more than 21,000 books to kids in 45 cities. Her goal this year is to hand out 50,000 books. "I want people to know these kids have as much potential and a lot to give as any other kids no matter their socio or economic status," says Frances. She adds, "All they need is equal access to the same materials all the other kids get and they will achieve the same goals."
Kingston Robinson, 10, explains why he likes to read, "I like to read because you learn new words when you read books."
Myrenna Colon, 11, picked a book for her 3-year-old brother to teach him how to read. She hopes he will like reading as much as she does. "What's fun about reading is making mind movies you can picture stuff in your head," says Myrenna.
Frances says she has scaled back her life to the things she needs. She lives in a one bedroom apartment and works part time jobs busing tables, at a book store or filling in at her old job in apartment leasing. By scaling back Frances she can focus on what she wants to do, "Doing this has taught me there's very little in this world truly important. Interacting with these kids showing them they're valuable has made all the difference in my life."
Here is a link to the CBS Morning Show that talks about Jennifer's project:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/09/earlyshow/main6190465.shtml
Here is a direct link to the Pepsi contest page:
http://www.refresheverything.com/BesstheBookBus
Here is an article that People Magazine did on Jennifer:
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20299008,00.html
Here is a link to the CBS Morning Show that did a story on Jennifer and Bess:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/22/earlyshow/series/main5033544.shtml
