How to help Harvey and Irma victims

Many JacketFlap members have reached out to me wanting to get involved with helping the victims of Harvey and Irma.

Below are a few ways to get involved!

Donate Money
Make sure it is a real charity. The Salvation Army is accepting donations. Call 800-SAL-ARMY to see how you can help. Check Charity Watch https://www.charitywatch.org/home and GiveWell http://www.givewell.org to make sure the charities you are donating to are legitimate. Unfortunately, during hard times, greedy people take advantage of people in need.

Give Blood!
Red Cross is the best place to donate blood. To find a local blood drive go to http://www.redcross.org/give-blood

Help Foster a Pet! Reach out to Austin Pets Alive https://www.austinpetsalive.org/hurricane-harvey-evacuations/

There is a school board election happening next Tuesday in Los Angeles on May 16th.

We are expecting only 1% of LA to come out and vote! If ever there was a time to jump in and get involved, it is now. If you can vote - do so!

Kids can't vote, but you can!

"Don't expect to see a change if you don't make one."

If you live in California - join speakupparents.org

California’s future depends on the quality of our public education system – a system that is not effectively serving most children in California.

Education policy is driven by decisions made in Sacramento and in local school districts, while parents – the most important and best advocates for kids – historically have not had a meaningful voice in the process.

Speak UP is an organization founded by parents who want to change that dynamic and improve public education in California. Our strategy is to engage our parent partners around the issues that are important to them – starting at the most local level – and bring them together to build a larger community of advocates.

When parents understand the decision-making process and recognize that systemic change is within their power, they will raise their collective voice as advocates and voters. Working as a community, we will drive the necessary policy changes to promote high-quality public education for all California children. Speak UP will build an enduring organization that will have a lasting impact on electoral results and legislation. 

The mission of Speak UP is to engage, educate and activate parents and community members to advocate for excellent, equitable public education at their children’s schools, in their communities, with elected representatives and at the ballot box.

http://speakupparents.org/

Milk+Bookies - Read Give Grow!

My amazing friend Meredith Alexander has a program called Milk + Bookies!  Go to http://www.milkandbookies.org/ and see how you can get involved with this incredible organization!

Read!

It’s what Milk+Bookies is all about, spreading the love of reading to those who can’t afford books of
their own.

Give!

Well, that AND service learning. Milk+Bookies teaches kids the importance of giving, and instills in them self-confidence, pride and a sense of goodwill – all wonderful byproducts of the Milk+Bookies brand of philanthropy.

Grow!

So how does Milk+Bookies foster literacy and service learning? By providing all of the tools, resources, support and instruction required for anyone to host their own Milk+Bookies parties. At these “book-raisers,” children are invited to choose, inscribe and donate books to their local peers in need and want of appropriate reading material.

Leaders + Readers

A continuation of our “Read! Give! Grow!” philosophy, Leaders + Readers is a program designed to encourage student volunteers in the Los Angeles community to organize book drives to benefit another Los Angeles based “sister” school.

The goal of every Leaders+Readers Book Drive is to flood underserved Los Angeles schools with books to support learning and academic excellence AND allow students to gain experience with leadership and community service. In the 2014-2015 school year, we were able to raise 55,800 books!

Email bookdrives@milkandbookies.org to find out how YOUR school can become a host or recipient with Leaders + Readers!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKuHAUhFKxk

5 thought provoking books to read this summer!

1)  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

2)  And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

3)  The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

4)  It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris

5)  The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Shout out to Dan Santat for his book The Adventures of Beekle winning the Caldecott

Congratulations to longtime JacketFlap member Dan Santat. Dan was awarded the Caldecott for his book The Adventures of Beekle. Congratulations Dan!

From Kirkus:

If an imaginary friend is unimagined, does it become a real friend?

Beekle (a crowned white gumdrop of lovable cuteness) lives on a fantastic island with other creatures “waiting to be imagined by a real child.” After seeing his companions leave, one by one, Beekle loses faith that he will ever “be picked and given a special name,” and so he does “the unimaginable” and ventures forth to find his friend. Upon arriving at a port city, he observes adults going about their daily lives in monochrome, dingy settings that lack any spark of color or vitality. Perspectives that often isolate the tiny Beekle in corners or surround him with large figures accentuate his loneliness. Everything changes when he arrives at a playground awash in color and sees children playing with their imaginary friends—many of whom had been on his island. But even here, he still cannot find his special friend. Feeling sad, he climbs a tree, and from his perch, he hears a voice calling to him. Lo and behold, he meets his special friend, Alice. She’s imagined him after all, as evidenced by the picture he retrieves for her, which is of himself handing her a picture. In a delightful comic sequence, the pair become acquainted, and “the world began to feel a little less strange."

Just in time for Valentine's Day!

If you have Bitcoin and someone special in your life, show how much you love them by buying flowers at Bitroses.com. Use coupon code: JF2015 and receive $5.00 off your purchase at check out.