What We Do

The Vision

We envision a community where everyone is literate with unlimited access to books. All children and adults will possess the literary skills that will allow them to have quality educational, economic, and health opportunities.

The Mission

The mission of Samantha’s Library is to promote literacy, provide continuous access to books, and therefore, improve quality of life.

The Why

In society, reading for pleasure and in general is vital and can be an agent for change. From books, individuals can discover their interests and open up to new ideas allowing people to understand the skill sets they need for the future. Society needs this exposure to give everybody the opportunity to contribute so we can create social change. Illiteracy can prevent people from making a contribution that could otherwise be brought to the world. Reading fosters a kind of innovation and creativity that can be found nowhere else. According to Reach out and Read, “Once children start school, difficulty with reading contributes to school failure, which can increase the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy – all of which can perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency.” Additionally, Torgeson, J, in Avoiding the Devastating Downward Spiral, American Educator, states “Children who fall seriously behind in the growth of critical early reading skills have fewer opportunities to practice reading. Evidence suggests that these lost practice opportunities make it extremely difficult for children who remain poor readers during the first three years of elementary school to ever acquire average levels of reading fluency.” This is why Samantha’s Library is so very important.

The Problem

Regarding areas in Florida that Samantha’s Library will begin to tackle, here are some literacy statistics. In Palm Beach County, 1 in 7 lacks basic prose literacy skills (2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy); 12.3 percent of the 972,851 adults age 25 and older do not have a high school diploma (US Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey), and 39 percent of public fourth grade students and 44 percent of public tenth grade students read below grade level (2014 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). In Broward County, approximately 22 percent of adults over age 16 are functionally illiterate, preventing them from reading to their children, completing a job application or writing a basic letter. (Libraries’ Learning Services Helps Reduce Illiteracy in Broward County). While technology continues to provide instant access to information, its benefits are limited for those who can’t read well. According to the 2014 Broward FCAT scores, 43% of 20,000 third grade students were not at level 3 in reading proficiency. According to national reading assessment data, 74% of students who fail to read proficiently by the end of third grade fall behind in later grades and often drop out before completing high school (Literacy Coalition Brings Together Broward’s Best to Target Grade Level Reading).

Nationally, America ranks 16 out of 23 for literacy, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Additionally, more than 50 percent of students at four-year post-secondary schools and more than 75 percent at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks. (The National Survey of America’s College Students).

These statistics are daunting. However, by taking the initiative to change the way things are, Samantha’s Library can make a difference.

Samantha’s Library, INC. (“SLI”) is a non-profit corporation and shall be operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future United States federal or other applicable tax code(s).

SLI is a charity devoted to the promotion of child and adult literacy. SLI supports and creates programs to support other 501(c)(3) organizations that promote literacy (e.g., “First Book,” http://www.firstbook.org/) and engages in all other lawful activities related to the forgoing and consistent with the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Code. SLI recognizes that children and adults who are illiterate or have underdeveloped literacy skills face poor educational, employment and even health-related opportunities. Many of them will not graduate from high school, will earn barely enough to stay above poverty levels, if that, and will be more likely to engage in criminal and anti-social behaviors. SLI’s initial approach will be to tackle the single biggest barrier to the development of literacy – access to reading materials in the age of technology.

SLI’s Officers and Directors are students, mothers and attorneys who have a love for reading, for children, and who recognize the incredible disadvantages illiteracy can visit upon its victims. In addition, many of the SLI Officers and Directors are related to teachers who have witnessed first-hand the negative impacts of illiteracy on the human condition. Accordingly, it is the heartfelt desire of SLI’s Officers and Directors to assist the illiterate and the “underliterate,” to coin a phrase, in passing what SLI deems an affliction on to new generations of victims. SLI is committed to the belief that this is a solvable problem with avoidable consequences.

SLI intends to effectuate its purpose of eradicating illiteracy by (a) providing grants to other 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that, directly or indirectly, provide financial assistance, educational training, and/or counselling services to SLI’s intended beneficiaries; (b) soliciting donations and other contributions through various methods including, but not necessarily limited to, Fund Drives, Read-A-Thons, book and other electronic and print media donations and programs; and (c) enlisting a grass roots movement of SLI volunteer clubs and groups at the local level, joining with schools, synagogues, churches and associations, both public and private, that share the same objective. Over time, SLI will continue to evaluate these and other charities/foundations to determine which have lean organizations and minimal overheads best suited to deliver the end results to the families, adults and children who need them. In addition to the above, SLI plans other events, including charitable golf tournaments, charitable runs, charitable raffles, charitable dinners, travel adventures, limited edition merchandise sales, and charitable auctions. Except as expressly set forth herein and allowed by law, all funds raised by SLI will be used exclusively for the charitable purposes for which SLI is formed.