Achievements

ESTABLISHED 2010 IN THE MEMORY OF JUDITH F. KRUG 

ACHIEVEMENTS SUMMARY
as of October 29, 2024

108 Libraries in 25 Countries, 133,303 Books Donated Worth $1,434,581!

Chronological List of Judith’s Reading Room Libraries

1 Pediatric Unit, Good Shepherd Rehab, Bethlehem, PA

2 Judith Krug Mem. Lib. Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan

3 Da Vinci Science Center, Allentown, PA

4 Mehrabudin School, Kabul, Afghanistan

5 Old Orchard Health Care Center, Easton, PA

6 Advocate Lutheran Children’s Hospital, Park Ridge, IL

7 Lehigh Valley Health Network, Ped. Unit, Allentown, PA

8 U.S. Consulate, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan

9 Lehigh Valley Hospital Children’s ER – Allentown, PA

10 USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Adult Library, Norfolk, VA

11Westlake School, Westfield, NJ

12 St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA #1

13St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA #2

14 St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA #3

15 St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA #4

16 St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA #5

17 St. Luke’s Hospital Network, Lehigh Valley, PA  #6

18 Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA

19Westchester Medical Center BHC Children’s, Valhalla, NY

20 Westchester Medical Center BHC Adults, Valhalla, NY

21 Industrial Technical Mhila School, Muzaffarnagar, India

22 Veterans Sanctuary, Allentown, PA

23 Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA

24 Candipari II School, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

25 Lehigh Valley Hospital Hackerman-Patz House, PA

26 Lehigh Valley Hospital Hackerman-Patz House, PA

27 Washington County “Harkins House,” Portland,Oregon

28 Riz Khan Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia #1

29 Riz Khan Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia #2

30 Children’s Home of Easton, Easton, PA

31 Yola By Pass, Adamawa State, Nigeria #1

32Yola By Pass, Adamawa State, Nigeria #2

33Yola By Pass, Adamawa State, Nigeria #3

34 Good Shepherd Rehab Hosp Recreation, Allentown, PA

35 Rakip Kocibelli Elementary School, Qatrom, Albania

36 Lois & Buzz Aldrin Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

37 Fess Parker Library, Sidoarjo, E.Java, Indonesia

38 Muhammad Yunus Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

39 Desmond Tutu Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

40 Natasha Richardson Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

41 Yo-Yo Ma Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

42 Liam Neeson Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

43Little Dolphin by the Sea Library, Sidoarjo, Indonesia

44 Queen Noor Al-Hussein Library, Sidoarjo, Indonesia

45 USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Children’s, Norfolk, VA

46 Polene Elementary School, Korce, Albania

47 Hispanic Center, Lehigh Valley WIC, Allentown, PA

48 Academia Teocali, San Jose, Costa Rica

49 Casa Guadalupe WIC Program, Allentown, PA

50Anjali House, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Cambodia

51 A New Day Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

52 U.S. Military Base, U.S. Marines, Japan

53 Schlip Primary School, Rehoboth, Namibia

54 Sidoarjo & Padang, East Java, Indonesia

55 Sidoarjo & Padang, East Java, Indonesia

56 Sidoarjo & Padang, East Java, Indonesia

57 Sidoarjo & Padang, East Java, Indonesia

58 Sidoarjo & Padang, East Java, Indonesia

59 Penn St. Master Gardener Program, Lehigh County, PA

60 Penn St. Master Gardener Program, Northampton Cty,PA

61 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #1

62 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #2

63 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #3

64Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #4

65 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #5

66 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #6

67 Sidoarjo & Padang, E. Java, Indonesia #7

68 Boys & Girls Club – Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania

69 Boys & Girls Club – Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania

70 Boys & Girls Club – Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania

71 Boys & Girls Club – Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania

72 Boys & Girls Club – Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania

73 READ Bhutan, Khotakpha, P. Gatshel, Thimphu, Bhutan

74 USS BATAAN, (LHD 5) Norfolk, Virginia

75 SDN Kalisampurno School, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

76 Da Chao Shan Elementary School, Yunnan Prov., China

77 Boys & Girls Club, Wayne, Pennsylvania

78 Magarao Central School, The Philippines

79 Resita City, Romania #1

80 Resita City, Romania #2

81 Resita City, Romania #3

82 Resita City, Romania #4

83 Resita City, Romania #5

84 Mangshui Middle School, Yunnan Province, China

85 Shirin Ebadi Library, Sidoarjo, E. Java, Indonesia

86 Peter’s AME Church, Tunica, Mississippi

87 USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), San Diego, California

88 Miller East Alt. Education, Hillsboro, Oregon

89 Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, Albany, Oregon

90 Alif Laila Aitezaz Hassan School, Hangu, Pakistan

91 Alif Laila Gov’t Girls School, Sheikhupura, Pakistan

92 Alif Laila Book Bus Society HQ, Lehore, Pakistan

93 Risbek Aidarliev School, The Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzstan

94 Bright School, Muhanga, Rwanda

95 Mukwashi Trust School, Lusaka West, Zambia

96 The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, Mexico

97 The Leadership Center, Zambrano, Honduras

98 Community Library, Potamia, Thassos Island, N. Greece

99 Avery Chapel AME Church, Southaven, Mississippi

100 Ziga Primary School, Zimbabwe

101 Alif Laila’s Camel Library @ Kech Balochistan, Pakistan

102 Diversity & Inclusion Library at South Side Elementary, Harrisburg, PA

103 Jabulani Community Literacy Program, Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

104 Education & English for You, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

105 Louisiana United Methodist Children & Family Services, Ruston, Louisiana

106 Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras,’ Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

107 Heavy Sound, East Lothian – a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland

108 Pink Crocodile & the Neratov Associiation, Prague, Czechh Republiic

Judith’s Reading Room Libraries in the United States: 

• Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital, Pediatric Unit, Bethlehem, PA 
• Da Vinci Science Center, Allentown, PA 
• Old Orchard Health Care Center, Easton, PA 
• Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Pediatric Unit, Park Ridge, IL 
• Lehigh Valley Health Network, In-patient Pediatric Unit, Allentown, PA 
• Lehigh Valley Health Network, Children’s ER, Allentown, PA 
• USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), Norfolk, VA — Adult Library
• Westlake School, Westfield, NJ 
• St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, KidsCare Allentown, PA
• St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, KidsCare, Bethlehem, PA
• St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, KidsCare, Easton, PA 
• St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, Miners Campus, Coaldale, PA
• St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network MEDICAL MOBILE VAN serving Broughal,  Northeast, Raub and Trexler Middle Schools, Bethlehem, PA  
• St. Luke’s Health Center at The Donegan Elementary School, Bethlehem, PA
• Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA  
• Westchester Medical Center, Adult Behavioral Health Center, Valhalla, NY
• Westchester Medical Center, Child Behavioral Health Center, Valhalla, NY • Veterans Sanctuary, Allentown, PA 
• Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 
• Lehigh Valley Health Network, Hackerman-Patz House, Allentown, PA
• Harkins House, Hillsboro, OR 
• Children’s Home of Easton, Easton, PA 
• Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital, Recreation Therapy, Allentown, PA
• USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), Norfolk, VA – Children’s Library
• Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley: WIC Program, Bethlehem, PA
• Casa Guadalupe WIC Program, Allentown, PA 
• Penn State County Extension – Master Gardener Library, Lehigh County, PA
• Penn State County Extension – Master Gardener Library, Northampton Cty., PA
• Boys & Girls Club, Wissahickon, PA 
• Boys & Girls Club, Germantown, PA 
• Boys & Girls Club, North East Frankford, PA 
• Boys & Girls Club, Shane Victornio/Nicetown, PA 
• Boys & Girls Club, Officer Lauretha Vaird, Philadelphia, PA 
• USS BATAAN (LHD 5), Norfolk, VA 
• Boys & Girls Club, Wayne, PA 
• St. Peter’s AME, Tunica, MS 
• USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), San Diego, CA 
• Miller East Alternative Education, Hillsboro, OR 
• Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, Albany, OR 
• Avery Chapel AME Church, Southaven, MS 
• Louisiana Methodist Children & Family Services, Ruston, LA

Judith’s Reading Room Libraries Around the World: 

• Afghanistan (3): Mehrabudin School, Kabul, U.S. Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif and  The Judith F. Krug Memorial Library, Camp Phoenix, Kabul 
• India (1): Industrial Technical Center Mhila School, New Delhi 
• Indonesia (27): Judith’s Reading Room English-language children’s libraries-with in-libraries at schools located in Sidoarjo and Padang, East Java, Indonesia.
• Nigeria (3): Remi Foundation and Karatu Foundation, both schools located in Yola  By Pass, plus a mobile library connected with American University Nigeria,  Adamawa State, northern Nigeria 
• Albania (2): Rakip Kocibelli School, village of Qatrom and Polene Elementary  School, village of Polene, near Korce, Albania 
• Costa Rica (1): Academia Teocali, Guanacasta, Costa Rica 
• Cambodia (2): A New Day Cambodia in Phnom Penh & Anjali House near Angkor  Wat in Siem Reap 
• Japan (1): US Marine Base, Japan 
• Namibia (1): Schlip Elementary School, Rehoboth, Namibia 
• Bhutan (1): Khotakpha READ Center, Pema Gatshel, Thimphu, Bhutan
• China (2): Da Chao Shan Middle School, Yunnan Province, China
• Philippines (1): Magarao Central School, Camarines Sur, Bicol region, Philippines
• Romania (5): Municipal Libraries across Resita City, in western Romania
• Pakistan (4): Aitezaz Hassan Shaheed School, Hangu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; the Government Girls School, Sheikhupura, Pakistan; Alif  Laila Book Bus Society headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan; The Camel Library, Kech  Balochistan 
• The Kyrgyz Republic (1): Risbek Aidarliev School, Village of Kopuro Bazaar
• Rwanda (1): Bright School, Muhanga 
• Zambia (1): Mukwashi Trust School, Lusaka West, Zambia 
• Mexico (2): La Palapa Society, Todos Santos, Mexico;
  Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras,’ Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
  
• Honduras (1): The Leadership Center, Zambrano, Republic of Honduras
• Greece (1): Village of Potamia, Thassos Island, North Greece 
• Zimbabwe (2): Ziga Primary School, Zimbabwe; Jabulani Community Center
• Ivory Coast (1): Education & English For You, Anono, Abidjan 
• Scotland (1): Heavy Sound, East Lothian – a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland
• Czech Republic (1):  Pink Crocodile & The Neratov Association, Prague

DETAILS IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

*** 2024 ***

• November 8, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room officially dedicated its 108th library in its 25th country today in Prague, Czech Republic with partners Pink Crocodile and The Neratov Association.  The library containing 86 books valued at $1,070 was hand curated to include concept story books in the form of board books plus sound, touch, and feel sensory books that children with multiple handicaps will enjoy.
• Nov. 1, 2024:  Barnes & Noble Wyomissing Center in PA has selected Judith’s Reading Room as its Holiday Drive Charity for the 5th year in a row.  Generous customers purchase books for the organization which enables us to make important contributions of books around the world.
• October 29, 2024:  The 15 Libraries to Celebrate Milestone 15th Anniversary list is nearly complete.  14 Libraries are confirmed and will be honored with specially curated collections in 2025.  In addition to those listed above (October 5), we have added James Prendergast Free Library in Jamestown, NY; Vhulakanjhani Primary School in South Africa; Avery Chapel AME Church in Southaven, MS; Watch Me Grow Learning Academy in Grenada, MS; Chinle Planting Hope, Navajo Nation, Chinle, AZ; Pohnpei Island Central School, Federated States of Micronesia; and Read for Literacy in Toledo, OH.
• October 17, 2024:  The 15 Libraries to Celebrate Milestone 15th Anniversary came to life today as we bought, labeled and packed for shipment 52 books worth $800 for 340 students at Bright School/TEACH Rwanda.  Rae Durnin, retired Wilson HS Biology teacher, joined Bill Whipple, Cathy & Scott Leiber to select STEM books and books about the Ocean, next year’s theme for the LEGO Robotics Championship.  The “enhanced” library will be dedicated January 7, 2025 in Muhanga, Rwanda.  Rae Durnin was recognized with an “Outstanding Service Award” for her contribution to curating the STEM collection and for her in-depth interview of William Whipple, co-founder, TEACH Rwanda.
• October 5, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room announced “15 Libraries to Celebrate Milestone 15th Anniversary in 2025” to be filled with at least 1,500 new books.  The organization will enhance existing libraries and/or open new libraries.  Launch dates are currently being nailed down including Bright School, Rwanda; Agustin Flores Contreras, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mosaic Preparatory Academy East Harlem, NY; Louisiana United Methodist Family & Children’s Services, Ruston, LA; Shree Jantra Adharbhut Vidhyalaya School and Shree Prasad St. School , both in Kathmandu, Nepal in collaboration with  the Jane Goodall Nepal organization.
• September 12, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room announced that Jordan Butler, founder of Heavy Sound, Edinburgh, Scotland received the organizations 2024 Founders’ Award.  In recognition of Butler’s measurable impact on the life of disaffected fellow citizens, and his dedication to bring literature into their lives, Butler received a prize of $1,000.  The Founders’ Award honors literacy heroes everywhere who nourish souls and fulfill dreams.
• August 10, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 107th library in its 24th country  on August 10, 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland.  The recipient organization is Heavy Sound, a nonprofit organization that provides a safe environment for kids 12-15 who are at risk.  The curated library features 124 YA graphic novels at a cover value of $2,456.  The Scottish Book Trust collaborated.
• April 25, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room celebrated its 12th year anniversary of establishing a library at Portland, Oregon’s ‘Harkins House’ with a donation of 67 books valued at $735.  This brings to a total 708 books donated over 12 years with a cover price of $8,734.
• April 24, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room wire transferred $1,000 to Pink Crocodile Charity for Children to purchase 80 concept books and story books for  Zahradka Primary School in Prague, Czech Republic.  (This will be the organization’s 108th library in its 25th country.  A news release will be issued announcing the dedication of the library in November, 2024.)
• February 22, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room dedicated and inaugurated our 106th library in our 23rd country at Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras’ in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The donation included 538 bilingual, Spanish and English only books with a cover value of $3,632.  Serving 189 children ages 6-10, the library was painted by parents, shelves were built by fathers and curtains were sewed by the mothers.  The titles include the most famous children’s books by the most famous authors.  Eight bilingual dictionaries are among the books — one for each classroom and one for the school’s principal.
• January 8, 2024:  Judith’s Reading Room was honored at Children’s Home of Easton to celebrate the gift we made of 35 YA books with a cover price value of $409 — The organization has donated to CHE since May, 2012 when a library was dedicated along with a red cart.  Today’s donation brings to a total 2,026 books with a cover price of $22,212.  The sustained effort to improve the lives of at-risk children remains at the heart of the organization’s outreach.

*** 2023 ***

• December 20, 2023:  The 2023 Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania’s store netted Judith’s Reading Room with 156 books with a cover price of $1,438.  Books will be distributed to Harkins House, LUMFCS and Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras.’
  • Harkins House to receive 20 books at $233 (in June 2024).
  • CHE:  35 books valued at $409 donated on Jan. 8,2024;.
  • LUMCFS: books & $ TBD.
  • Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras: 74 books @ $554
• December 4, 2023:  Judith’s Reading Room announces establishment of its Book Club at Washington County Juvenile ‘Harkins House.’  Harkins House chose the book, Gym Candy for the boys’ dorm and One of Us is Next for the girls’ dorm.  Supervisors will moderate the book club.  The goal is to glean information to establish concrete benefits accruing to at-risk teens when they participate in supervised book club discussions.  Today’s donation totals 10 books at $125.
• November 7-8, 2023:  Judith’s Reading Room to host its inaugural mobile Literacy Stories Round Table in Acapulco, Mexico.  (*NOTE:  Due to Hurricane ‘Otis’ that slammed into Acapulco on October 24, the trip was cancelled.)
• September 22, 2023:  Judith’s Reading Room held a “Banned Books Event” at Washington County’s Harkins House, Hillsboro, OR where the organization established a library in 2012.  A total of 50 books were added to the Judith’s Reading Room library bringing to a total donation since 2012:  631 books valued at $7,874.  Today’s donation includes several banned and/or challenged books: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Looking for Alaska.  Demands to censor library resources in 2022 was highest since the ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.  In keeping with the life work of its namesake, Judith F. Krug, and in whose memory the organization was founded sin 2010, Judith’s Reading Room stands firm and condemns censorship and works to defend each person’s right to read under the First Amendment.  We consider it our task to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools and this donation is a part of that effort.
• August 15, 2023:  The 2nd annual Literacy Chair Award was presented to the 38 member Chautauqua-Cattaragus Library System (CCLS) and Bemus Point Librarian, Shannon Donovan. CCLS and Donovan won the designation for their innovative “CCLS Road Trip” project, a summertime initiative that perfectly addresses “summer slide,” the so-called loss of reading competency while students eschew books over more playful activities.  Accepting the award on behalf of CCLS was LJ Martin, Outreach & Youth Services Consultant.  The trophies were crafted by local artist, Kristen Engstrom, of Mayville, NY who designed two different sculptures depicting a woman seated in a unique chair, with a beaming smile, holding an open book in her lap.  The award celebration was attended by more than 3 dozen community leaders, library board members, librarians from the county and politicians.
• May 9, 2023: A total of 46 books, curated by Harkins House staff (Washington County Juvenile Justice) in Hillsboro, Oregon were donated to the Judith’s Reading Room library that was established there in 2012. The donation is part of Judith’s Reading Room’s ongoing efforts to support the education and mental health of young people around the world.
• February 10, 2023: “Pen Pals Across the World” was announced today. This global collaboration between Toti Jean Marc Yale, founder and CEO of Education and English for You in the Ivory Coast and Daliz Vasquez, Principal, Mosaic Preparatory Academy, East Harlem, NY seeks to build friendships across the globe. A gift of $600 was sent to the Ivory Coast to purchase 65 French/English dictionaries to help the children in the Ivory Coast. Subsequently, Victor Owuor, Nairobi, Kenya and his children have joined in the effort.
• January 30, 2023: A total of 61 new children’s books with a cover price of $367 were shipped to Mosaic Preparatory Academy, NYC, for the Book Vending Machine. The books were collected over the Christmas holiday season by Barnes & Noble, Wyomissing from generous patrons.

*** 2022 ***

• December 8, 2022: Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 105th library to the Louisiana United Methodist Children & Family Services in Ruston, Louisiana. The  founders of Judith’s Reading Room, while on a riverboat cruise of the lower Mississippi River, learned about LUMCFS and its dedication to providing intensive, residential care to children from traumatic backgrounds with significant emotional and  behavioral needs. Judith’s Reading Room will continue to stock the shelves at  LUMCFS as books “walk” with the children as they return to a stable home or loving  household. The library contains 124 curated books, hand-chosen by the youth  themselves, worth $1,449. Louisiana is the 9th US state to receive a Judith’s Reading Room library.
• October 31, 2022: Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 104th library in Abidjan,  Ivory Coast of West Africa. This is the 9th library in 6 African nations including  Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Judith’s Reading Room transferred $USD 600 for our local partner, Education & English for You founder & CEO  Toti Jean-Marc Yale to purchase 150 children’s books to serve the 60 permanent  students who wish to learn English. Toti is a 2022 ‘Honorable Mention’ Freedom  Through Literacy Award winner.
• October 27, 2022: Judith’s Reading Room and the Louisiana United Methodist  Children and Family Services organization based in Ruston, Louisiana agreed to establish the organization’s 105th library. A wish list of teen series books has been  provided to Judith’s Reading Room and it is expected that the Library will be dedicated before the end of 2022.
• October 3, 2022: Announced the inaugural “Literacy Chair Award” in honor of Dr.  Lisette Caesar. The gift of a Storytime Crafts original piece of art — a decoupaged  chair — of the Ezra Jack Keats famous The Snowy Day was dedicated today at Mosa ic Preparatory Academy in East Harlem, NY, where Dr. Caesar served as principal  for 14 years. In recognition of her incessant and energetic focus to engage children  in reading, Judith’s Reading Room named her its first Literacy Chair Award winner  with the gift of the story-themed chair using Dr. Caesar’s favorite childhood book.  Judith’s Reading Room also purchased 50 copies of Dr. Liz’s book, Reading with Dr.  Liz valued at $650 to give to each 2022 kindergarten scholar, “as a way to remember  me,” said Dr. Caesar.
• September 18, 2022: Announced the inaugural “Founders’ Award’ — a cash prize at  the discretion of its founders, Scott & Cathy Leiber, to honor literacy heroes who  have had to overcome immense obstacles in order to enrich lives through literacy.  Two recipients were named: Ms. Basarat Kazim, Alif Laila Book Bus Society,  Lehore Pakistan for her commitment to play her part in overcoming the devastating  impact of the deadly flooding in Pakistan. She received a cash award in the amount  of $1,000; Ms. Simon Ke, Anjali House, Siem Reap, Cambodia for her determination  and perseverance in the face of a global pandemic to never abandon hope for their  Mobile Library project. She received a cash award in the amount of $1,000.

*** 2021 ***

• December 27, 2021: A total of 775 children’s books with a cover price of $7,781 were donated by Barnes & Noble of Wyomissing, PA patrons during that store’s 2021 “Holiday Book Charity Drive.”  The books were distributed to Judith’s Reading Room’s proven recipients and “keepers” of our libraries around the world.  In fact, books were strategically shipped to 11 recipients in 9 states and 2 countries, including the United States, as follows:
  • Lisette Caesar, Mosaic Prep Academy and 2021 Honorable Mention, New York City, New York
    • 272 books for children ages 3 to fifth grade @ $2,842
  • Lisa Gerard, Little Read Wagon, 2021 Board Option Prize Winner, Norman, Oklahoma
    • 73 books for kids of all ages & bi-lingual books @ $731
  • Amber Drinen, & Charmaine Tsosie, Chinle Planting Hope, 2020 Board Option Prize Winner, Chinle, Arizona
    • 68 books for Birth-to-5 @ $675
  •  Chelsea Fryer & Mindy Chipps, Harkins House, Judith’s Reading Room Library #53, Hillsboro, Oregon
    • 63 books for teenagers @ $720
  •  Derek Witmer, 2021 Board Option Prize Winner, Harrisburg, PA
    • 75 books for 2nd graders @ $615
  •  Marlene Arnholt, The Children’s Home of Easton, Judith’s Reading Room Library #55, Easton, Pennsylvania
    • 46 books for teenagers @$602
  • Chris McGilvery, 2020 Grand Prize Winner, Leaders/Readers Network, Canyon, Texas
    • 30 books for kids of all ages @$291
  • Joicki Floyd, 2021 Judith’s Award Winner, Newark, NJ
    • 30 books for 10th graders @$389
  • Karen Brown, 2019 Board Option Winner, Caring for Cats, North St. Paul,  Minnesota
    • 33 books for 5-13 year olds @ $309
  • Rev. Dr. Leoda Topps, JRR Library #99, Sunflower, Mississippi
    • 50 books for Pre-K to K @ $404
  • Dominique Zara, recipient of 5 Judith’s Reading Room libraries in September 2014, Romania
    • 35 books for kids of all ages @$203

• December 10, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room purchased 240 Danny Dollar books at $5 each from author and Judith’s Award winner Ty Allan Jackson in preparation for a special children’s financial literacy event to be held on Feb. 11, 2022 at Mosaic Preparatory Academy in East Harlem, NY.
• November 30, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room donated 50 children’s books to be placed in the Book Vending Machine at Mosaic Preparatory Academy in East Harlem, NY.  The books were hand-picked for the scholars, 3K-5th grade, who attend this college preparatory elementary school.  Scholars earn coupons for various actions, like being good Samaritans or for reading a certain number of books.  They exchange the coupons for a token that unlocks a book of their choice from the Book Vending Machine.   The books were donated by patrons of the Wyomissing, PA Barnes & Noble during the Holiday Book Drive which named Judith’s Reading Room as the recipient charity.
• November 22, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 103rd library today in Zimbabwe with our literacy partner, Children in the Wilderness.  The custom library is housed at the Jabulani Community Literacy Program in Victoria Falls and contains 90 hand-picked books designed for teenagers and adults who, for whatever reason, find themselves grown but not fully literate.    Children in the Wilderness was awarded a 2021 Judith’s Reading Room Freedom Through Literacy Board Option Prize in the amount of $400 and chose to purchase this unique collection of books that are now available to its 340 students.
• November 17, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room donated 48 Einstein Baby Board Books to Mosaic Preparatory Academy in East Harlem, NY to celebrate the Ribbon Cutting for its innovative Book Vending Machine.
• November 1, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room is selected, for the 2nd year in a row, as the Wyomissing, PA 2021 Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive Charity.

• October 14, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room announces the dedication of its 102nd library, named  the “Diversity and Inclusion Library at South Side Elementary.” At its 2021 Freedom Through Literacy Award celebration, Judith’s Reading Room announced that it had awarded Board Option Prize Winner Derek Witmer from Harrisburg, PA $500 to establish a 2nd library in his honor.  The library is managed by Stacey Chyr, a second grade teacher at South Side Elementary School in Harrisburg, PA.

• August 15, 2021: At its 2021 Freedom Through Literacy Award celebration, Judith’s Reading Room announced that it will dedicate its 103rd Library in collaboration with Children in the Wildernesses Board Option Prize winner Sue Goatley.  Her prize of $400 will go toward the purchase of teen and adult books at the ”Jabulani Community Literacy Program in Zimbabwe.”  Dedication date TBD.
  * Library #101 is out of order due to its postponement during the COVID shutdown.

• June 1, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room 100th library opened at  Ziga Primary School, in the Tsholotsho region, south of Hwange National Park,  Zimbabwe on this date, having been postponed from its original date of August 2020 because of the Coronavirus pandemic.  In partnership with Children in the Wilderness, books were purchased locally to serve 150 students. A check in the amount of $500 was wire-transferred on July 20, 2020 to purchase 113 books.

• February 11, 2021: Judith’s Reading Room delivered 121 children’s books with a cover price of $1,542 to Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA to celebrate National Nutrition Month in March.  The gift, originally slated for 2020 as a part of the organization’s “10 stand-out libraries” gift was postponed an entire year.  Children’s books focus on gardening, fruits, vegetables to promote parent/child interaction and appreciation of healthful eating.

*** 2020 ***

• November 14, 2020: Judith’s Reading Room is named the 2020 Holiday Book Drive charity by Barnes & Noble, Broadcasting Square, Wyomissing, PA.  As books were collected, they were allocated  and shipped to the perfect recipient organization. Over the course of the Book Drive, five (5) recipient organizations received a total of 1,918 books with a cover price of $19,434, as follows:
  • AME Church, South Haven, MS: 452 books with cover price of  $4,636
  • Navajo Nation, Chinle, AZ: 429 books with cover price of  $4,090
  • Camel Library Project, Pakistan: 46 books valued at $ 234
  • Leaders/Readers Network, Canyon, TX: 716 books with cover price of $8,718
  • Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA: 275 books with cover price of  $1,756

• October 29, 2020: Judith’s Reading Room announced today its 101st library — the first ever mobile library to utilize a camel to deliver books to children.  The camel driver, Murad, and his camel, “Bright,” delivered 500 books to the nearly impossible to reach the rural community of Kech Balochistan in southwest Pakistan.  In partnership with Alif Laila Book Bus Society, and its President, Ms. Basarat Kazim, winner of a 2020 Board Option Prize, Judith’s Reading Room invested in the camel delivery system and 500 children’s books.

• August, 2020: Judith’s Reading Room 100th library dedication at  Ziga Primary School, in the Tsholotsho region, south of Hwange National Park,  Zimbabwe was postponed because of the Coronavirus until January 2021 at which time the children are expected to be allowed to return to school.  In partnership with Children in the Wilderness, books were purchased locally to serve 150 students. A check in the amount of $500 was wire-transferred on July 20, 2020 to purchase 126 books.

• February 23, 2020: Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 99th library today at the Avery Chapel AME Church in Southaven, MS in honor of Rev. Dr. Leoda Topps, the recipient of our #86th library.  As a part of our 10th Anniversary and in commemoration of National Black History Month, we shipped 73 books valued at $916.

• January 28, 2020: Judith’s Reading Room celebrates its 10th Anniversary by naming 10 “stand out” libraries out of its 98 libraries in 21 countries.  Each library will be awarded $500, for a total of $5,000 to purchase new books to supplement its original library.  The 10 libraries are:  AME Church, Tunica, Mississippi; Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, Pa; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa; VA “100” Program at various VA hospitals — VA Lebanon, Pa; Harkins’ House, Portland, Or; Anjali House, Siem Reap, Cambodia; Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lehore, Pakistan; La Palapa Society, Todos Santos, Mexico; The Leadership Center, Zambrano, Honduras; TEACH Rwanda, Kinyarwanda, Rwanda.  Each library will be honored and featured on our website during the course of the year. ** COVID 19 Pandemic forced the cancellation of the VA Lebanon, Fox Chase, The Leadership Center donations.
  • TEACH Rwanda — @29+ books (TBD) and $500 (mailed 1/22/2020)
  • Avery Chapel AME Church, South Haven, MS — 73 books at $916 (see reference to Library #99 so as to not double count!!)
  • HARKINS HOUSE — 39 books @ $637 donated March 13, 2020

• January 20, 2020: The 98th library in our 21st country was officially dedicated today in the village of Potamia, Thassos Island, North Greece.  Villagers are augmenting the library by donating books from their home collections.  Housed in the historic Cultural Union of Polignotos Vagis stone building at the seashore, 150 children will be served.  Organized reading activities and book presentations will be routine.

*** 2019 ***

• September 28, 2019:  In honor of the 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award Judith’s Award winner, Vicky Xanthopoulou, Judith’s Reading Room shipped 75 hand-picked children’s books valued at $830 to the village of Potamia, Thassos Island, North Greece in order to establish the first-ever community library in that village.
• March 25, 2019: In conjunction with Ana Luhrs, former board member and Lafayette College Librarian, Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 97th library in its 20th country with a collection of 25 books — mostly autobiographies of women from around the world — to The Leadership Center in Zambrano, Honduras.  TLC gives young women — hand-picked by village elders — the opportunity to learn leadership skills.

*** 2018 ***

• April 15, 2018: Judith’s Reading Room officially opened its 96th library in its 19th country today in conjunction with the organization’s 2017 Freedom Through Literacy Honorable Mention:  The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, Mexico.   The award of $500 was used to purchase 50 children’s books in English and Spanish for their Biblioteca Infantil (Children’s Library) Bridge to English reading program serving more than 160 children.  The non-profit Palapa Society is dedicated to raise the literacy rate and love of reading in the Todos Santos, Mexico community where there is low level household literacy and where school classrooms do not contain books for fun.

*** 2017 ***

• September 10, 2017: Judith’s Reading Room donated 450 children’s books valued at $3,950 to Casa Guadalupe’s Office of the Nutritionist. During a site visit by health authorities, it was recommended that if books could be placed in the nutritionist’s office , it would help occupy the children and would make the counseling sessions with the parents more effective.

*** 2016 ***

• Novebember 29, 2016:  Judith’s Reading Room announced the opening of its 95th library in its 18th country with the delivery of 100 children’s books valued at $1,195 to the Mukwashi Trust School located in Lusaka West, Zambia., serving 385 children.
•  April 6, 2016: Judith’s Reading Room announced the opening of its 94th library in its 17th country — Rwanda. Working in collaboration with our 2015 Freedom Through Literacy Award Runner-Up, Janet Brown with TEACH Rwanda, volunteers from that organization hand-picked books for the Judith’s Reading Room book collection. They selected 137 books valued at $1,181 to open the library at Bright School in Muhanga, Rwanda. Bright School serves 136 children. Books donated by Judith’s Reading Room are a part of an integrated curriculum in which children develop understandings about the world around them. Bright School is a hub for teachers from around the world to see modern teaching practices in a rapidly developing country where many families are subsistence farmers.

*** 2015 ***

• September 8, 2015: Judith’s Reading Room shipped 92 children’s books, valued at $506 to establish the organization’s 93rd library in our 16th country in The Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan). The English language library will be managed by Nazareth, PA native Andrew Berry, now a Peace Corps official at the Risbek Aidarliev School that serves 902 students. Andrew will use the books to establish a book reading club for these children whose village is far from any city.
• September 8, 2015: Judith’s Reading Room shipped 100 children’s books, valued at $800 to create a permanent library at the Alif Laila Book Bus Society headquarters in Lehore, Pakistan.

• June 17, 2015: Judith’s Reading Room established an English language library containing 139 children’s books valued at $831 with Alif Laila Book Bus Society, that was installed at a Government Girls School in Sheikhupura, where Alif Laila set up a library three years ago. There are 1,500 students ranging in age from primary tohigh school. The library is considered a “cluster” library where the neighboring schools also have access, expanding the reach of the books to 3,500 children. English is taught at Sheikhupura. English is compulsory in Pakistan for students who wish to attend university or any institute after high school.

•  June 12, 2015: Judith’s Reading Room established an English language library at the Aitezaz Hassan Shaheed School, Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The all-boys school received a box of 101 children’s books valued at $714. The school is named after Aitezaz, a 15 year old boy who sacrificed his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering his school of 2,000 students. Aitezaz’s action to save his classmates captured the hearts of many in Pakistan and he is hailed as a National hero. This library marks the organization’s 90th library and its 14th country outside the United States.
  

• March 4, 2015: Judith’s Reading Room established its 89th library with a Book Club for 12 at Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, Albany, OR. Oak Creek is the only female juvenile correctional facility in the state of Oregon. As a public safety agency, they are prohibited from spending “general fund” state budget monies on books for kids. Oak Creek serves female youth ages 12-25 committed for criminal offenses. Their mission is to protect the public and reduce crime while holding youth accountable and providing opportunities for reformation in safe environments. The first book selected by Oak Creek: Insurgent by Veronica Roth. the donation of 12 books is valued at $156. Judith’s Reading Room will provide book club books on a “requested basis.”

• January 20, 2015:  Judith’s Reading Room dedicated its 88th library with its establishment at Miller East Alternative Education, Hillsboro, OR, serving students enrolled in the Hillsboro School District’s GED program.  Students have access to a public library, but due to transportation issues, they are unable to get there.  The initial shipment that established the library contained 100 books valued at $1,063.

• January 6, 2015:  Judith’s Reading Room opened business on board the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), home to 5,000 troops.  The amphibious carrier is stationed in San Diego, CA, making it the 8th state where a JRR library may be found.  The children’s books will support the Navy’s program, “United Through Reading,” which allows Sailors to read a book aloud, be taped, and have the tape sent home.   According to naval sources, this program is the #1 morale booster for sailors.  For those Sailors whose wives give birth while they are out to sea, the tape recording of their voice is the first time a newborn can hear their father’s voice, according to RPC Ashley Schumacher, head of “United Through Reading” on the carrier.   In addition to children’s books, Boxers will also send boxes of adult books for the pure pleasure of reading while the troops are at sea.  As of this date, 25 adult books valued at $400 and 121 children’s books valued at $766 have been shipped to the carrier.

*** 2014 ***

• December 22, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room shipped two boxes of children’s books to the amphibious carrier the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), home to 5,000 troops.  This first shipment will help establish a children’s book resource center to support the Navy’s program, “United Through Reading,” which allows sailors to read a book aloud, be taped, and have the tape sent home.   According to naval sources, this program is the #1 morale booster for sailors.  For those sailors whose wives give birth while they are out to sea, the tape recording of their voice is the first time a newborn can hear their father’s voice.  A Judith’s Reading Room library will be officially dedicated on the carrier in early 2015.

• December 21, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room opened a library containing 257 children’s books worth $2,280 in Tunica, Mississippi.  Mississippi is the organization’s 7th state.  The Rev. Dr. Leoda Topps, a Ph.D. and former teacher who is Pastor of St. Peter’s AME Church in Tunica, will manage the library meant to serve, initially, 20 children aged 4-15 years of age.  Tunica is a poverty-stricken town, where the citizens received running water just 10 years ago.  The children,  will have a chance to explore literature for the first time and their parents will be able to actively participate in the process by giving feedback.  With the books, the children will be able to increase their reading level, improve their academic ability and develop social skills. It is the organization’s 86th library in the 7th state.

• November 14, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room, in collaboration with The World is Just a Book Away, (WIJABA) opened its 27th library this week in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia at the Shirin Ebadi Library (SDN Boro School).  The English language library that includes 100 children’s books worth $800, serves 224 children.  This is the conclusion of the collaboration with WIJABA in Indonesia.

• October 17, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room, in collaboration with The World is Just a Book Away, donated 1,200 children’s books to A Foundation for Kids, Riverside, CA.  The organization provides support for 20,000 children in the greater Southern CA area who are abused or at-risk.  The children live in group homes and/or foster homes.

• October 17, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room established a library today at the Mangshui Middle School, Yunnan Province, China.  The library contains 219 children’s books worth $1,276.  The organization was contacted by American teacher, Diane Ahn, who works for Teach for China.  She told us that “freedom is to have choice, and in the case of rural China, to have choice is to have mobility.  Children who grow up in this area are on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder, and thus only have one means for mobility:  education.  At the grand opening, officials spoke in front of the entire student body numbering 750 students.  This is Judith’s Reading Room’s 84th library and its second in China.

• September 8, 2014:  Five libraries were dedicated today, UNESCO’s International Literacy Day, in Resita City, Romania containing 658 children’s books in English worth $3,500.  The five libraries, one of which is named the Judith’s Reading Room Library, serves 70,000 residents.    The request from municipal librarian, Dominique Zara, is for a total of 6,000-7,000 books, including books to teach English to city politicians.  Her goal with respect to that audience is to demonstrate that a library is an indispensable asset in a city and that librarians can do great things for all citizens.  Subsequent donations have brought the total books shipped to 1,279 worth $8,314.

• July 2, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room dedicated a library at the Magarao Central School, The Philippines, home to 1,400 elementary and high school students, their teachers and members of the community, thanks to the leadership of Melissa Clouser, Peace Corps volunteer.  Melissa’s service project was to establish a library of children’s storybooks in English in order to establish a culture of reading for fun and to improve their performance in the classroom.  She also initiated a three-day librarian training session for teachers and students to explain how a library works.  Judith’s Reading Room library contains 292 books valued at $1,406.

• June 30, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room opened its sixth (6th) library at the Wayne, PA Boys & Girls Club., serving 90 children. The donation included  613 children’s books and a custom designed mobile library cart is valued at $5,257.  According to Christopher Gale, B&GC Manager of Literacy Initiatives, our books will be utilized to support the Philadelphia area “Read by Fourth” program.  That program’s goal, by 2020, is to double the number of kids who read on grade level.  All six Judith’s Reading Room libraries rotate among the locations and contain 2,758 books valued at $25,336.

• June 1, 2014:  Today, the Judith’s Reading Room library was officially dedicated at the Da Chao Shan Elementary School in rural Yunnan Province, China.  The school serves 600 children, too poor to be able to afford books, who will now have the opportunity to pass the required core curriculum test in English enabling them to graduate to high school.  the organization partnered with the nonprofit, Teach for China and American teachers who serve as Fellows for a two-year assignment.  Reading time is scheduled every Wednesday for 40 minutes during which our books may be checked out by students.  The library contains 418 children’s books in English with a cover price value of $3,478.  The Judith’s Reading Room library was dedicated in honor of Dinyar and Aashish Devitre.

• May 31, 2014:  A Judith’s Reading Room library was opened today at SDN Kalisampurno School in Sidoarjo, Indonesia.  The 100 books, valued at $800 will enable 216 elementary school students to learn English.  Teachers plan to take the children into the library to use the books with their lesson plans.  This is our 26th library in Indonesia.

• April 24, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room opened a “lending library” on board the USS BATAAN (LHD 5), serving 4,800 Sailors and Marines.  It is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship named to honor the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines during the early days of US involvement in WWII.  The USS BATAAN is based out of Norfolk, VA and its mission is to enable the Navy and Marine Corps team to accomplish a seamless transition from the sea to the land battle, as the lead ship and centerpiece of an Amphibious Readiness Group.  It’s flight deck and well deck also make it the ideal platform for non-combatant evacuation and disaster relief operations.  Subsequent donations have brought the total number of  books to 349 valued at $6,061.

• March 26, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room opened a library of 53 children’s audiobooks and educational books with CDs valued at $1,254 to READ Bhutan in the village of Khotakpha, Pema Gatshel, Thimphu, Bhutan.  A total of 211 students ranging from pre-K to grade 6 will benefit from these books.  READ believes empowering rural communities is critical to alleviating global poverty. Until 1960, English was not taught.

• February 24, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room opened three additional libraries on behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs in the Philadelphia metro area.  The donation included 1,050 hand-picked children’s books and three mobile library carts at a total value of $10,240.  In May, 2014, 300 books valued at $2,465 were donated so that children could read over the summer and, therefore, avoid “summer slide.”  In all, Judith’s Reading Room has delivered 2,158 children’s books plus 5 mobile library carts at a value of $20,283.  13,000 children have access to our books.

• January, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room has begun to redirect religious books donated to our organization to miscellaneous local nonprofits brought to our attention by our volunteers.  In January the organization donated 618 religious books at a cover price value of $4,944 to St. John’s Church in Bath.

• January 30, 2014:  Judith’s Reading Room donated 25 books to Rainbow Rescue, a nonprofit organization based in Trinidad that supports children forced to survive on city streets due to poverty and breakdown in family life.  The objectives of Rainbow Rescue are to rehabilitate, educate and foster the children’s development as productive law abiding citizens.  This initial donation is made in anticipation of a library opening with our support in 2014.  The value of today’s donation is $219.

*** 2013 ***

• December 30, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room donated 1,280 hardcover books  worth $10,240 to the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, an organization that provides direct service and emergency assistance to all veterans in VA and military hospitals.  In 2014, an additional 12,500 books worth $161,365 have been donated.

• December 23, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room opened two libraries on behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs in the Philadelphia metro area, serving more than 400 Philadelphia youth each year.  Our books will support the B&G Clubs Literacy Program that aims to provide direct instruction to youth who are having challenges with reading.  These children have fallen through the cracks because of a lack of understanding of differences in learning including dyslexia.  We were told that until today’s donation, there were never enough books for the children to take home and read on their own.  Today’s donation of 750 books is valued at $5,784.

• In 2013, Judith’s Reading Room opened a total of 13 children’s libraries in 13  schools reaching a total of 3,395 students who now have books in English for the  first time.  Since 2012, JRR has opened a total of 25 English language children’s  libraries, with a total of 2,500 books valued at $20,000.  Our books now reach 7,690  Indonesian children.

• December 19, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room opened eight (8) additional libraries in Sidoarjo and Padang, East Java, Indonesia, with partner The World is Just a Book Away.  Each library consists of 100 English language children’s books.  The value of today’s donation is $6,400.  The number of children impacted by JRR books at these eight schools is 2,452.

• December 13, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room opened two children’s libraries in connection with Penn State Extension Master Gardener program.  The 100 books, worth a total value of $703, are all children’s level gardening books to aid the 129 active Master Gardeners as they prepare programs for urban children.  In 2013, Master Gardeners contributed over 4,600 volunteer hours, impacting the lives of 2,000 children.  In 2014, an additional 147 children’s gardening books valued at $1,224 were added to the libraries.

• October 31, 2013:   Judith’s Reading Room shipped its first box of books to China containing 42 children’s books valued at $247 for the Dachaoshan Middle School in rural Yunnan Province, China. 

• August 28, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room continued it collaboration with The World is Just a Book Away by opening an additional five (5) libraries in Sidoarjo and Padang, East Java, Indonesia schools serving 943 students in all.  Each JRR library consists of 100 English language children’s books.  The value of todays’ donation is $4,000.  The named libraries include:  Jenny Ming Library, Jane Fonda Library, the Moore Family Library, Zari Rastkar Library and Mehdi Moradmand Library.   Together JRR and WIJABA have now opened 17 libraries in Indonesia.

• June 17, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room opened a library at the Schlip Primary School in Rehoboth, Namibia, with 269 hand-picked books for 150 children from kindergarten to grade 7.  This donation will offer children the chance to learn English starting in kindergarten.  “Books are the most important, the most requested and the most treasured” items the students could want, said Peace Corps volunteer Kirby Kernan.

• June 17, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room established a “lending library” for U.S. Marines based in Japan.  This marks the second library on a military base.

• May 4, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room dedicated two libraries in Cambodia.  The first library of 76 children’s books in English was dedicated in collaboration with A New Day Cambodia, a nonprofit in Phnom Penh that provides food, shelter and education to more than 100 scavenger children.  The second, containing 87 children’s books, was inaugurated at Anjali House, in Siem Reap, near Angkor Wat, which serves 110 children between the ages of 4 – 18 who are so poor they are forced to beg on the streets.   Students and teachers use our English books on average three hours/week to build vocabulary and read for pleasure.  Subsequent donations have brought the total to 229 books worth $2,087.

• April 24, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room donated a mobile book cart with 438 pre-k books valued at $4,511 to Allentown PA’s Casa Guadalupe’s Women,Infants & Children’s Program (WIC).  Casa serves 1,080 individuals per month.  In 2013, the organization donated 6,000 pre-k books, bi-lingual educational materials including bookmarks with “Five Tips for Reading to Infants” and posters explaining WHY it is important to read aloud to your children, in an effort to help build a community of readers.  Each month, Judith’s Reading Room donates 400 gently-read pre-K books plus 80 new baby books when the parent signs a “Pledge to Read” 20 minutes each day to their baby.  Since the program’s inception in April 2013, 11,638 pre-k books valued at $94,377 have been donated to Casa Guadalupe.

• April 23, 2013:  Judith’s Reading Room established its presence in Central America with this donation of 182 children’s books valued at $1,337.  The library was dedicated on World Book Day at Academia Teocali, a private school four hours north of San Jose, capital of Costa Rica that serves 150 children.  The donation increased the size of that schools English-language library by 800%.  Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 251 books worth $1,941.

• February 13, 2013:   Judith’s Reading Room donated a mobile cart containing 1,000 children’s books to Bethlehem, PA’s Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley’s Women, Infants & Children’s Program (WIC).  The custom library, valued at $8,870, includes an extensive collection of bilingual books and specifically targets low-income families with children who are not enrolled in daycare or pre-K.  Every child enrolled in the WIC program will receive a new book from Judith’s Reading Room on their newborn visit, estimated at 50 children per month.  HCLV serves 12,600 individuals annually.  Parents are required to sign a Pledge to Read aloud to their children 20 minutes every day in order to receive the new baby book.  Since its inception, Judith’s Reading Room has donated 2,750 books worth $23,859.

*** 2012 ***

• December 19, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room opened its second library in Albania in the historic village of Polene, outside the city of Korce, Albania.  The Polene Elementary School serves 60 students enrolled in grades K-9 with a staff of eight teachers.  English classes are taught three times a week, starting in third grade.  A local Peace Corps volunteer coordinated the library dedication which included Polene teacher requested titles including 83 children’s books valued at $664.
• December 12, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room announced today its donation of a children’s library on board the USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) aircraft carrier, making it the 2nd library on board the carrier.  The initial donation of 436 children’s books valued at $4,927 will give the 4,500 Sailors the opportunity to stay connected with their children while serving overseas thanks to the Naval program, “United Through Reading,” in which Sailors can read books aloud, be taped reading the books and then send the tapes home!  Subsequent shipments have brought the total donation to 1,362 children’s books worth $12,940.

• December 10, 2012:  In collaboration with The World Is Just A Book Away,  a Judith’s  Reading Room library was dedicated inside the Queen Noor Al-Hussein Library in Sidoarjo, Indonesia serving 326 students and at the SDN Kedensari II School also in Sidoarjo, serving 253 students.  In 2012, Judith’s Reading Room, in collaboration with The World is Just a Book way, donated a total of 1,200 books — 100 books per each of the 12 libraries — at a English language children’s books in Sidoarjo and Padang, East Java, Indonesia.

• October 15, 2012:  In collaboration with The World Is Just A Book Away, Judith’s Reading Room opened eight (8) libraries-within-libraries at schools in East Java, Indonesia, as follows:  Lois & Buzz Aldrin Library, Fess Parker Library, Muhammad Yunus Library, Desmond Tutu Library, Natasha Richardson Memorial Library, Yo-Yo May Library, Liam Neeson Library and Little Dolphin by the Sea Library.  Each Judith’s Reading Room library contains 100 English language children’s books to supplement local language books.  Judith’s Reading Room donated today a total of 800 books, valued at $6,400, serving 3,151 school age children at these 8 schools.

• September 27, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room expanded to Europe on this date by opening a library at the Rakip Kocibelli Elementary School, village of Qatrom, near the city of Korce in South-Eastern Albania.  Dennis Dias, a Peace Corps volunteer contacted the American Library Association and was put in touch with Judith’s Reading Room.  The initial gift of 100 books valued at $1,143 serves 100 children already studying English in grades 3-9.  Additional shipments of books have grown the library to 140 books valued at $1,336, serving children as young as kindergarten.  Albania is Judith’s Reading Room’s fifth country outside the United States.

• September 14, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room donated its 2^nd library today to Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital’s Recreation Therapy Room.  The Therapy Room aims to return its patients to their highest possible level of function and independence.  Today’s donation is comprised of 300 hand chosen books and a mobile cart with a total value of $7,562.

• August 10, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room donated 220 books valued at $1,137 to the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley, an organization that provided an eight week summer program for 44 low-income children, entering grades kindergarten to sixth, with both academic and recreational activities.   The donation is the joint effort to reduce ‘summer slide,’ or the loss of skill, knowledge and motivation acquired during the school year due to the lack of practice over the summer.

• August 4, 2012:  Judith’s Reading Room delivered a collection of 117 new young adult books worth $1,508 to the Palmer Branch of the Easton Public Library in Easton, PA for its inaugural Young Adult Fest.  The YA Fest was created to inspire and maintain a lifelong interest in reading amongst youth between 13-18 years of age.  We reached a total of 361 attendees, many of whom heard of our organization for the first time.  In April 2014, we participated again at the YA Fest and donated 100 YA books, with a cover price value of $746.

• May 31, 2012:  Three (3) Judith’s Reading Room libraries – two mobile and one permanent — were dedicated today in Yola By Pass, Adamawa State, Nigeria serving nine (9) educational institutions and impacting over 10,000 students.   Judith’s Reading Room collaborated with the American University of Nigeria, the Rotary Club of Yola, Remi Foundation, a school serving 400 including 100 special needs children, and the Karatu Foundation, an organization created to sustain libraries in various institutions in the Yola area, with the goal of increasing literacy in this area of northern Nigeria.  The libraries include 850 books valued at $6,123.

• May 23, 2012:  Donated 450 books and a mobile library cart valued at $5,926 to Children’s Home of Easton, Easton, PA, “home away from home” for at-risk youth who cannot live at home through no fault of their own.  The donation includes a literacy-rich initiative:  the inauguration of a Judith’s Reading Room Book Group.  The reading initiative will benefit 150 children and their families each year.  As Judith’s Reading Room continues to fill the cart and contributes monthly Book Club selections, the library now includes 1,798 books worth $19,797.

• May 22, 2012:  A Judith’s Reading Room library, containing 125 children’s books was established inside the Riz Khan Library at the Kebonagung I School, serving 267 students in East Java, Indonesia.  The first of two mobile libraries was also dedicated.  The mobile library was inaugurated with 230 books and will serve 28 schools reaching nearly 3,500 students.  The value of today’s donation is $2,297.

• May 9, 2012:  Dedicated a library including 219 children’s books valued at $2,647 to Washington County Juvenile Detention Center ‘Harkins House,’ a nationally recognized model program and short-term temporary residential shelter located near Portland, Oregon.  Literacy is a significant protective factor for at-risk youth and is strongly correlated with reducing recidivism.  In August, 2012 Judith’s Reading Room helped establish a Book Club.  Subsequent donations have brought the total donation to 535 books valued at $6,525.

• May 8, 2012:  Donated a library containing 100 coffee table books worth $3,837 to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Hackerman-Patz House, a “home away from home” that offers loved ones accommodations for a modest charge.  The custom collection was designed to help ease the stress and strain by allowing guests to escape the difficulties of the moment with a great book.   Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 218 coffee table books valued at $7,332.

• February 15, 2012:  Dedicated the first-ever English language children’s library at the Candipari II School, Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, serving 298 children.  Located within the Miep Gies library containing local language books, Judith’s Reading Room, containing 125 children’s books in English worth $1,033, was dedicated today on what would have been Miep Gies’ 103^rd birthday.

• November 4, 2011:  Donated to Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA a library including a hand-picked collection of 300 books worth $6,912.  The donation was made in honor of Lawrence Nelson, father of Leora Hornick, a member of Judith’s Reading Room board of directors.  Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 2,280 books at $38,804.

*** 2011 ***

• October 19, 2011:  Donated to Veterans Sanctuary, Allentown, PA a custom library of 200 books worth $4,618.  The first of its kind in the State of Pennsylvania, Veterans Sanctuary provides residential treatment for addiction and the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), exclusively for veterans.  Additional books were donated on Veterans Day, 2011 for a total donation of 307 books worth $6,701.

• October 3, 2011:  A Judith’s Reading Room library was installed at the Industrial Technical Mhila School, Ailum, Muzaffarnagar, INDIA.  The custom collection of 41 vocational books worth $417 were hand-carried in luggage to India and included books on needlepoint, embroidery, hairdressing, English as a Second Language and basic computer skills.  The library will give 100 girls the vocational skills to ensure a better future.

• September 2011- 2013 School Years:  In a unique collaboration with St. Luke’s Hospital and two elementary schools in the Bethlehem Area School District: the Donegan Elementary School and Fountain Hill, Judith’s Reading Room developed “Storytime at Judith’s Reading Room,” a pre-literacy book giveaway and read-aloud experience designed to develop basic concepts about print, including knowing how to hold a book in the right way, differentiating between print and pictures and being able to tell words from letters.  During the 2011-2013 school years, a total of 122 volunteers read aloud to 4- and 5-year-olds for a combined 526 hours, gifted a total of 3,809 pre-k books for the children to keep forever worth $30,267. A total of 4,104 child contacts were recorded. The impact:  Judith’s Reading Room helped build first-ever home libraries to counter inter-generational poverty.

• September 21, 2011:  Two custom Judith’s Reading Room libraries were donated to Westchester Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Center (BHC) in Valhalla, NY, one to the adult unit and one to the children’s adolescent unit.  The BHC serves acute psychiatric patients whose acuity levels are the highest in the country.  The donation included 381 books worth $6,817.  The donation coincided with Banned Books Week an annual celebration of authors created by Judith F. Krug in 1982, and included more than a dozen “banned books.”  Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 441 books valued at $7,561.

• September 6, 2011:  A collection of 31 adult and children’s religious books worth $501 were donated to Temple Covenant of Peace, Easton, PA, the 3^rd oldest Synagogue in Pennsylvania.  In May, 2012, Judith’s Reading Room donated an additional 92 books on the Holocaust, Jewish holidays, Hebrew language and memoires of great Jewish people worth $1,573.

• September 1, 2011:  A Judith’s Reading Room library was installed at Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA.  The hand-picked collection of 2,362 books worth $21,487 makes this Judith’s Reading Room’s largest donation to date.  The library contains books for children pre-K to high school.  Casa Guadalupe serves families who live in one of the most physically and economically distressed areas in Allentown.

• August 16, 2011:  Judith’s Reading Room donated 2,060 children’s and adult books to St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, Lehigh Valley, PA worth $20,927.  The donation included six custom libraries, including three KidsCare Clinics in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton; Miners Campus, Coaldale, PA, the hospital’s Medical Mobile Van serving 4 Lehigh Valley Middle Schools (Broughal, Northeast, Raub and Trexler) and the Family Health Center located at the Donegan Elementary School on Bethlehem’s Southside.   Dr. Bonnie Coyle, Director, St. Luke’s Community Health Department, said, “We are very excited to collaborate with Judith’s Reading Room to continue to help at-risk low income children improve their reading skills throughout our local communities.”  Subsequent donations, including to the St. Luke’s Hospice House have brought the total gift to 4,286 books valued at $42,260.

• May 24, 2011:  In collaboration with Garwood Cub Scout Pack #75, Judith’s Reading Room donated a mobile library containing 732 children’s books worth $6,267 to Westlake School, Westfield, NJ, which serves multiply disabled students, ages 7 to 21 years.  The donation effectively doubled the size of the school’s library.  Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 762 books valued at $6,437.

• May/June 2011:  Judith’s Reading Room donated 117 new books worth $1,835 to Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA to celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day 2011.  The books were donated in honor of Patricia and William H. Horne and Wilda and Lawrence Nelson by their daughters Cathy Leiber and Leora Hornick, respectively.

• March 15, 2011:  On this date Judith’s Reading Room was officially “green-lighted” to establish a library on board the USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77),  home to 4,500 Sailors.  Shipments are made monthly in memory of Charles A. Horne, Jr., a WWII naval hero and uncle of the Co-Founders.  In June 2013 we also shipped to the USS EISENHOWER.  Since March 15, 2011, we have shipped 151 boxes of books to Sailors on these two aircraft carriers containing 2,043 books worth $35,396.

• February 22, 2011:  Donated a library to the Lehigh Valley Hospital Children’s ER – the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.  The donation of 566 children’s books is worth $3,687. Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 887 children’s books worth $6,707.

• January 31, 2011:  The U.S. Consulate located in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan, invited Judith’s Reading Room to establish a library of military history books, world and U.S. history, biographies and important works of non-fiction.  Books delivered to the Consulate were shared with the 10^th Mountain Division Soldiers (NY State) at Camp Marmal, with U.S. troops at Camp Northern Lights, Balkh Province, and with Balkh University, Afghanistan’s 2^nd largest university.   Before the Consulate closed, the organization shipped 519 books worth $9,708.

*** 2010 ***

• November 19, 2010:  Donated to Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA a library for its Pediatric Unit stocked with a custom collection of 484 children’s books valued at $4,478.  Subsequent donations have brought the total gift to 777 children’s books valued at $7,230.

• Since November 9, 2010:  On this date, Judith’s Reading Room launched the “VA ‘100’ Program.”   Judith’s Reading Room ships 100 paperback books on a monthly basis to interested VA hospitals.  The “VA 100” program has served VA hospitals in 4 states: in Pennsylvania at the VA Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Coatesville Veteran’s Hospital, the VA in Altoona, the Library at Butler Healthcare and the PA Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home; in New Jersey,  the VA in East Orange.  In March 2013, we began shipping to New York  to the VA in Albany.  On April 2, 2013, in honor of Doris Leiber, a native New Yorker and member of the Greatest Generation, we started to ship 50 children’s books every other month to the Canandaigua VA in Canandaigua, NY and in October 2013, we shipped the first box of children’s books to The Vet Center, Albany, NY.  In May 2013, we commenced shipping to North Carolina to Steadfast House a shelter for homeless female vets with children and to the VA Medical Center in Asheville. In November 2013, we fulfilled a request to ship children’s books to The Vet Center, Albany, NY.  Since November 9, 2010, Judith’s Reading Room has shipped a total of 17,456 books to VA hospitals worth $157,997.

• September 29, 2010:  Judith’s Reading Room delivered a hand-picked collection of 33 new children’s books worth $330 to Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, PA, for its Pa’Lante program.  The Pa’Lante program is an after-school program for second language, at risk, learners in grades 1 to 5.

• Since September 10, 2010:  Judith’s Reading Room began shipping books to U.S Marines.   As of this date, a total of 2,528 books worth $38,389 have been shipped to U.S. Marines in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Republic of Georgia, Japan, Guam, South Korea, the Philippines and to Rapid Response Teams around the world.

• September 1, 2010.  Donated to Advocate Lutheran Children’s Hospital, Park Ridge, IL, a Judith’s Reading Room library for their Pediatric Unit.   Jessica Florence Krug, the grand-daughter of Judith F. Krug, for whom Judith’s Reading Room is named, organized the initial donation which has now grown to 730 children’s books worth $5,786.

• August 18, 2010:  Donated to Old Orchard Health Care Center, Easton, PA, c/o Molly Border as beneficiary, a custom Judith’s Reading Room mobile library, containing 227 LARGE PRINT books worth $3,551.   Subsequent donations have been added. As of today, a total of 915 books worth $15,414 have been delivered to this senior residential facility.

• July 11, 2010:  On this date, a Judith’s Reading Room library was established at the Mehrabudin School in Kabul, Afghanistan, with its one-time donation of 911 books in 34 boxes worth $5,912.  The donation created the first-ever library at this school, serving more than 9,000 students.  It was dedicated by the 1/178^th Field Artillery Battalion’s Camp Phoenix Soldiers, volunteers with Operation Outreach Afghanistan, a Soldier-led organization designed to provide humanitarian aid to Afghani civilians.

• Since July 2010:  Judith’s Reading Room began shipping boxes of books to the United States Air Force, Ali al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait City, Kuwait.  We have also shipped to Airmen stationed in Kazakhstan and Germany.  Since July 2010, we have shipped 2,796 books worth $40,837.

• June 11, 2010:  Donated to the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA a custom Judith’s Reading Room library, containing 223 science and math books worth $3,002.  The museum-on-wheels will travel to inner-city schools too poor to provide field trips for their students.  Subsequent donations have been added, bringing our gift to a total of 579 books worth $6,590.

• May 2010 to June 2014: Judith’s Reading Room started shipping children’s books
  c/o the 1/178^th Field Artillery Battalion and the 1/182^nd Infantry, Kabul,  Afghanistan in support of Operation Outreach Afghanistan, the military’s  premier intellectual infra-structure project whose mission is to build schools  across Afghanistan.  Until the outreach program was dissolved on June 23, 2014 due to mission drawdown, we shipped 4,802 children’s books worth $31,144.

• April 2010 to June 2014:  The PA National Guard asked Judith’s Reading Room to help establish “Lending Libraries” in support of US Provincial Reconstruction Teams deployed across Afghanistan.  In 2010, the Judith F. Krug Memorial Library was dedicated at Camp Phoenix, Kabul.  Until the base was closed in June, 2014, Judith’s Reading Room shipped a total of  4,064 books in 296 boxes worth $58,399.

• February 5, 2010: Donated to the Pediatric Unit of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, a custom Judith’s Reading Room mobile library, containing 317 books worth $3,800.  Subsequent donations bring to a total 842 books worth $9,274.

• Since January 1, 2010:  Judith’s Reading Room has shipped a total of  3,081 books to wounded Soldiers and Marines recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein Air Base, Germany and the Nurses serving them in 214 boxes worth $44,474.