Libraries for at risk youth New Chapters Libraries for at risk youth

Who We Are New Chapters is a group of volunteers whose collective passion is to inspire a love of books in at risk youth We believe that strong reading skills are essential for every child and that a good book can be very therapeutic and offer a vacation from the hardships of every day life

What We Do We facilitate the creation and refurbishment of libraries in residential facilities that support at risk children We continually add new releases and high interest books to keep our libraries current and enticing to the kids We provide programming aimed at fostering a love of books and increasing reading skills

Benefits of Reading Improves focus and concentration Increases knowledge & intelligence Reduces stress Improves imagination & fosters creative thinking Increases vocabulary & communication skills Fosters better writing skills in the reader Offers a mini-vacation from real life

Libraries We Support Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) Iowa’s largest and most comprehensive emergency shelter for kids Provides emergency shelter, crisis nursery care, mental health counseling and family counseling Provides support to over 800 children (newborn through age 17) each year

Libraries We Support Polk County Juvenile Detention Center PCJD provides safe and secure detention care for juveniles who require custody pending disposition and placement The vast majority of youth are between 10 and 17 years of age

Libraries in Progress Orchard Place Campus A highly respected residential treatment facility for kids ages 10 – 17 who are suffering from severe emotional trauma and behavioral problems Residents are in need of intensive mental health services, close monitoring and a highly structured and safe setting Four residential “houses” on campus

How it Started Developed Summer Reading Program for YESS in 2012 with 2 carts of books Summer Reading Program 2013 & 2014 Major Building Expansion Plans at YESS included a Library Library opened in June, 2015 with over 2,500 books Library allows us to provide our Reading Program year round

YESS Library

YESS Reading Corner

YESS Library Programming We staff library hours every Tuesday evening We help kids pick out books appropriate to their reading level and interests We offer incentive games and prizes to encourage more reading Currently developing a Reading Skills Enhancement Program for the younger kids

Impact of YESS Library Many kids state that they never used to read but now enjoy it Numerous kids have told us that the books help take their minds off their situation The kids ask for books with characters in similar situations that they have faced as it makes them feel less alone The positive impact has inspired New Chapters to want to make books available to all facilities that cater to at risk kids

Polk County Juvenile Detention Center - PCJD Had an existing library but books were very, very outdated and worn August, 2016 - We purged and reorganized the library We added approximately 600 new books Volunteers visit detention weekly to foster excitement about books and help the kids pick out a book of interest to them

Original PCJD Library

We purged a lot of books

We Added 600 new books

Appreciation and Impact

Appreciation and Impact

Orchard Place Campus 4 Residential buildings Limited number of books Books very old and outdated We are renovating unused rooms in 2 buildings to create libraries We are accepting donations and purchasing new books to fill those libraries

Current Book shelf

Room before Renovations

New Library in Progress

Next Room to Renovate

What We Need... Monetary donations to aid in renovating the second library space at Orchard Place Monetary donations to provide the YESS library with supplies and incentive prizes Book Store/Amazon Gift Cards to help us keep all libraries current and to fulfill special book requests from the kids

Make Contact newchaptersdsm@gmail.com www.newchapterslibraries.org