Several Junior League of Nashville (“JLN”) placements center around our literacy pillar to help enhance access to literacy for the youth of Nashville. All Booked Up is committed to providing access to educational resources for families in the Greater Nashville area. 

Why do we focus so much attention on this issue? At the heart of it, literacy is critical to every child’s success. In our own backyard of Nashville, two in three third graders are not reading on grade level according to Blueprint for Early Childhood Success. 

A huge shoutout to our dedicated All Booked Up (ABU) committee and the resources they are providing to our youth by connecting with our community. Below is a recap of the four different events our All Booked Up Committee Hosted: 

February 29, 2020: 

So, with the help of our amazing sponsors this year, we hosted our 5th annual All Booked Up on Saturday, February 29th at Tusculum Elementary. This free event provided interactive for families and all children will receive a bag FULL of books to start or add to their own library! Every year, we see around 300-400 youth receive free books to inspire them. This year, we were able to provide over 9,000 books to 800 youth in our surrounding communities. 

“I was encouraged (and given the resources) to read at a young age, and that has made all the difference in my life,” said Ashley Corley, All Booked Up Co-Chair. “With the joint efforts of our community partners and sponsors, we’re able to provide fun, free resources to our local community and help equip the next generation with the tools they’ll need.”

Children had fun engaging with different forms of literacy at our interactive partner booths:

• • Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
  • Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
  • JLN – Kids in the Kitchen
  • Mr. Bond’s Science Guys
  • Nashville Children’s Theater
  • Nashville Zoo
  • Pi Beta Phi – Alum
  • Hip Hues
  • Saint Bernard Academy cheerleaders

A huge special thanks to Metro Nashville Public Schools, PENCIL, and Tusculum Elementary; Hip Hues; Nashville Children’s Theatre; Mr Bond’s Science Guys; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; Nashville Zoo; Pi Beta Phi; Saint Bernard Academy; Jennifer Hillen; Book’em; and our sponsors. 

Thank you to our Literacy Partner: PENCIL

Thank you to our Sponsors: Dollar General, Pi Beta Phi, FormFast, and Hip Hues

Learn more about the event:

November 5, 2019: 

JLN’s All Booked Up partnered with Haywood Elementary on Tuesday, November 5, to deliver 300 books to Kindergarten through fifth-grade children. 

October 14, 2019:

JLN members partnered with Inner City to deliver books to 45 kids between pre-k and 4th grade, and included imagination stations. 

September 11, 2019: 

JLN’s All Booked Up partnered with McNeilly to deliver books to 120 pre-school and pre-kindergarten-aged children. Additionally, the group participated in a storybook time and imagination stations to design bookmarks and build puppets to augment the books they received.

“Books open up a world of possibilities and encourage youth to try something new,” said Sonia Boss, All Booked Up Co-Chair. “We’ve seen first-hand the excitement of owning their own books from Nashville’s elementary children. In a city with rapid growth, it’s critical to provide these resources to all for a well-rounded culture.”

If you would like to work with us on a blog post or are a member with a blog post idea, please email our Publications chair at jlnpublications@gmail.com

Author: Dallas Jessup, ’19-’20 Publications Chair