As you know, part of our Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy program involves donating a portion of bookmark profits to literacy programs. Well, which one(s)?

I looked into Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at the recommendation of a friend. It’s got a fancy fun Web site and a lofty goal: The program provides a brand new book-a-month to all children under 5 within a community. It’s up to the community to raise funds for the books and postage to mail them, promote the program, register the kiddos, and enter the information into the database. Then the Imagination Library takes care of shipping books.

I would love to do this is my community, but we’re talking about corporate donations, not 10% of sales from my one bookmark pattern. Get real, Jen!

Okay, okay. But let’s keep this program in sight as a potential goal for the future.

It’s probably more realistic and appropriate to look closer to home for a worthwhile literacy program. And where do you suppose is a good place to start looking? The library, of course!

The children’s librarian turned me onto First Book, which has the simple straightforward goal of giving children from low-income families new books to own and enjoy. That’s it! That’s what I want to do.

First Book Anchorage has distributed over 45,000 books to local literacy programs. A $25 donation buys 10 books, and donations of $50 can receive a copy of a First Book print by Anchorage children’s book illustrator, Amy Meissner! (I want one!)

But that leads me to a new idea. QUIT ROLLING YOUR EYES! Maybe I could design a First Book bookmark pattern that could be distributed as a thank-you to individual donors. Maybe I could get donations of materials and have the guild make kits to give away in addition to the pattern–like the print, it would be on request with a donation, so they wouldn’t be wasted on people who don’t want them. Maybe…

Or maybe I’ll focus on getting bookmark patterns #2 and 3 printed so that I can raise $50 for First Book Anchorage and get Funk & Weber Designs listed with these folks.

What does this picture have to do with literacy non-profits and First Book Anchorage? Not a ding-dong thing. I just think the blog looks more interesting with images. This is Mike and Dad, last summer. Now is a good time to catch rainbows up here; they’re eating salmon eggs, and you fish with little orange beads.

What? You don’t know what salmon eggs look like? Sigh. They look like this: