Books Like Me Campaign 2022
Books Like Me is a four-week campaign to raise funds to purchase and distribute new diverse books. There are many ways for you, your family and your employees to get involved!
Donate
Make an individual or corporate gift to the Books Like Me Campaign.
Volunteer
Sort and pack books for distribution to children across Greater Cleveland.
Shop
Buy diverse books to donate. Check out our wish lists on Amazon and Bookshop.org.
Book Drive
Run a book drive to collect diverse books at work or in your neighborhood
Books Like Me Campaign co-chairs, Nikki and JB Bickerstaff, kick-off the campaign by sharing why they’re chairing this initiative.
Why is the Books Like Me Campaign important?
- 84% of the kids who receive books from the Kids’ Book Bank are children of color.
- We don’t get many diverse books donated.
- All children should see themselves in the stories they read.
- A child’s ability to learn, imagine, and grow significantly increases when the stories they read reflect their lived experiences.
77% of all children’s books published have a white person or an animal as the main character.
84% of the children who receive books from the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank are children of color.
Why do we need diverse books? How do we define diversity?
Books are windows to see others’ experiences and mirrors to reflect one’s own experiences. It’s important for children to read stories that reflect their lives and those that are different from theirs, so they can have a full understanding of the world around them.
We recognize the diverse experiences of all people, including Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), all ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and gender diversity.
What do we do with our brand-new diverse books?
When we purchase or receive brand new diverse books, we sprinkle them throughout our entire inventory. We want every box of books we distribute to contain a handful of diverse books. In 2021 we distributed 21,000 diverse books. Our goal is to increase that number to 40,000 in 2022.
In the News
Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank Executive Director, Thea DeRosa Cerra, and Books Like Me Campaign Co-Chair, Nikki Bickerstaff, talked with Leon Bibb of WKYC about the importance of diverse books.
Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank Executive Director, Thea DeRosa Cerra, spoke with Damon Maloney of Channel 19 about our Books Like Me Campaign.
Thank you to these Community Partners for their participation in the Books Like Me Campaign
The Diversity Center of NEO
The Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank
D-Bat Solon
Loganberry Books
Young Latino Network
LGBT Community Center
AKA (Alpha Omega Chapter)
Esperanza
AsiaTown/Midtown Cleveland
The Women of Color Foundation
The Karen Eagle Group/Sotheby’s