NCFL, Better World Books accepting grant applications for organizations that promote creative learning for families
Friday, July 15, 2011

NCFL, Better World Books accepting grant applications for organizations that promote creative learning for families 20 mini-grants to be awarded for innovative use of Wonderopolis.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Adam Cochran Margaret Sullivan
NCFL Better World Books
502-584-1133, ext. 131 646-833-0205
acochran@famlit.org bwb@groupsjr.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (July 14, 2011) The National Center for Family Literacy and Better World Books announced today that they are accepting applications for mini-grants to promote creative ideas for using Wonderopolis.org® with families.

These $500 mini-grants will be awarded to 20 community-based organizations, libraries or schools with creative ideas for adopting and using Wonderopolis with the families in their existing programs. Wonderopolis.org was created by NCFL in 2010 to provide free, family-friendly content that is practical, easy to use and designed to engage children's natural curiosity and transform it into a lifelong love of learning. It was recently named one of the 30 sites all dads should check out by ThirtyMag.com.

The applications, available at www.wonderopolis.org/minigrants, are due Aug. 19. Applicants must describe how they will use the mini-grant to embed Wonderopolis in their program and how it will help them better deliver educational services to those they serve.

"Teachers have turned to Wonderopolis as a high-tech resource for the classroom that fosters the joy of learning in children and bridges the connection between home and school," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL. "Every day, teachers are praising how Wonderopolis is bringing excitement into the classroom for their students and into their homes with their own children. We want to continue to foster that creativity by helping personalize Wonderopolis for families in their programs and communities."

From incorporating the Wonderopolis widget on school websites to blogging about their Wonderopolis experiences with middle school students to using the website to start off the day with a kindergarten class, teachers across the country are creatively using it as an educational supplement. And parents are inspired through weekly WonderChats on Twitter to create craft time and other fun learning projects with their children.

"My students compete with each other before the school bell rings in the morning to see who knows the Wonder of the Day®," said Jon Fines, an elementary school teacher in Montana, who also uses it with at home with his son. "It's basically just a few minutes of good ol' lap time with my 6-year-old."

The grant award recipients will be announced in mid-September. This is the latest partnership effort between NCFL and Better World Books, which together have raised more than $740,000 for NCFL's programming since 2005.

"A brand-new Wonder of the Day publishes each and every day, making exciting, educational content available to libraries, community centers, YMCAs and other community-based organizations serving families and children," said David Murphy, president and CEO of Better World Books.

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ABOUT WONDEROPOLIS AND NCFL
Wonderopolis provides family-friendly content that is practical, easy to use and designed to engage children's natural curiosity and transform it into a lifelong love of learning. It was created by the National Center for Family Literacy, which is the worldwide leader in family literacy. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL's work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. For more information, visit www.famlit.org.

ABOUT BETTER WORLD BOOKS
Better World Books (www.BetterWorldBooks.com) is a for-profit social enterprise that collects and sells books online with each sale generating funds for literacy initiatives in the U.S. and around the world. With more than eight million new and used titles in stock, Better World Books is a self-sustaining company that balances the social, economic and environmental values of its stakeholders. Better World Books diverts books from landfills by conducting book drives on 1,800 college campuses, and by collecting discards from over 2,000 libraries. Since its founding in 2003, the Mishawaka, Ind.-based company has raised over $9.5 million for its non-profit literacy, library and college partners; donated over 4.5 million books; re-used or recycled more than 50 million books; achieved over 21,000 tons of carbon offsets through carbon-neutral shipping, and created more than 200 full-time jobs with meaningful benefits.