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Where Families Gather, Books Belong: Dvadnie’s Journey with Book Harvest At Book Harvest, we believe every child deserves the magic of stories, and our mission is as simple as it is powerful: to make sure every child has an abundance of books. Through our programs, we put high-quality books directly into the hands of students at school and deliver them straight to families’ homes. Our goal is to help build home libraries children can cherish for years to come. Yet, there are

Astoria reminded us that communities don't necessarily need to start from scratch. They already have organizations committed to children and families — dedicated leaders, trusted institutions, and a shared desire to see children thrive.

We are thrilled to welcome two remarkable leaders to our team: Jessica "JRuss" Russell Gilliam, our new Associate Director of People Operations, and Theon Webster, our new Chief Financial Officer

At the 2026 Book Harvest Summer Block Party, 15,363 books were harvested in just 3 hours. That’s 85 books harvested per minute by 3,500+ attendees – a 56.4% increase in books harvested from last year! And it all happened right at Durham Central Park, amidst music, games, food, and joyful community.

At Book Harvest, our culture has always been built on something simple but powerful: people who show up fully, again and again, for our families and for each other. Few people embody that spirit more than Tabitha Blackwell.

On June 22nd, the Durham Board of County Commissioners proclaimed July 6th-10th Summer Learning Week in Durham County! See the official Proclamation below. We are so grateful to the entire Board of County Commissioners for lifting up the importance of summer learning in this way, and to our partners across the county who have made this possible.

Heading into our country's 250th anniversary, I find myself impatient. We are capable of delivering so much more than symbols and splashy events: we are capable of making a bold, ambitious commitment to the future of our democracy.

By the time a North Carolina toddler turns 2, there’s a 40% chance they already have their own tablet. A 2025 report from Common Sense Media found that screen time at home for young children now averages about two and a half hours a day, and a growing share of it is spent on short-form video — TikTok, YouTube Shorts, the kind of clips built to be watched once and swiped past. It’s a snapshot of what childhood looks like right now, nationally.

We’re only 23 days away from the best event of the summer – Book Harvest’s annual Summer Block Party!

This week, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Replacements, Ltd., I attended my first Books on Break program at Rankin Elementary School in Guilford County, and I've been thinking about it ever since.

Reading Outside the Lines: Book Harvest's StoryWalk at Heritage, A Gathering Place What if a walk through the woods could also be a story? That's exactly what visitors to Heritage, A Gathering Place in Roxboro will find when they head out on the new trail behind the building. Thanks to a partnership between Book Harvest and the JES Avanti Foundation, a StoryWalk now winds along a 0.25 mile stretch of wooded trail behind Heritage, inviting families to read together as they mov

As Book Harvest grows, our incredible staff does, too! We are so excited to have welcomed multiple full-time staff members at Book Harvest since the beginning of the year, and we wanted to take a moment to highlight several of the unique stories, experiences, and passions that brought them together in Book Harvest’s pursuit of literacy and justice for all.

There's something quietly extraordinary about a room full of families celebrating a child's very first graduation. Tiny caps and gowns. Five years of books, home visits, bedtime stories, and growth — all leading to this moment.

On the morning of May 15, 2026, something remarkable happened at Wilton Elementary School in Franklinton, North Carolina: a child picked up a book — the millionth book harvested during our Books on Break program.

Partnership and advocacy for children comes in different forms. The following three experiences with early childhood and literacy champions on the Hill continue to inspire me.

2025 Book Babies Annual Caregiver Survey: Key Findings and Program Impact Book Harvest's 2025 Book Babies Annual Caregiver Survey gathered responses from 148 families across Durham, Forsyth, and Wake counties, documenting measurable gains in home reading frequency, caregiver confidence, and daily literacy routines. Findings indicate that 100% of responding families read together three or more times per week, 98% report that program-provided books make building a home reading

Books ignite the imagination. They inspire curiosity, broaden our horizons, and help us grow. Few people have embodied that truth more fully than Isabel Geffner — and today, after 10.5 remarkable years, is her last official day at Book Harvest.

This National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are especially grateful for our incredible team of Book Harvest volunteers! Two longtime volunteers – Linda Hoke and Sharon Barrell – took the time to share their volunteer journeys with us in celebration of this week.

Memorial Hospital of South Bend is launching Books from Birth this week, becoming the first hospital in Indiana — and the latest across a select group of hospitals nationwide — to send every newborn home with a starter library of new board books.

It was a chilly winter day in 2011. I was feeling a bit nervous, not really sure what I was doing. I entered the waiting room of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service in Carrboro, North Carolina, lugging a bookshelf and grocery bags full of donated children’s books.