Local teens provide reading resources to newborns
One group of local teens is giving back by sharing Stories for Success with the smallest new members of their community.
Created by five soon-tobe Saratoga Springs High School juniors — Anabelle Brueggemann, Maddie Cook, Mia Hayes, Ava Kuruzovich and Ciara Meyer — Stories for Success is a project aimed at spreading the love of reading to every new family in Saratoga.
Stories for Success partners with Saratoga Hospital to provide new parents with “book bags” that include two books, library card information and other reading-related goodies.
“We believe in the power of reading,” the group’s website states. “Reading has had a profound impact on all of our lives. Some of our earliest and most cherished memories from childhood are centered around our favorite books. Beyond just reminiscing on old stories, we all have been affected academically by reading from a young age.
“Studies have shown the importance of reading and being read to on a young child’s academic success. By reading to babies, parents can play a critical role in helping create the young readers that will become the leaders of our tomorrow.”
Thie Stories for Success initiative originally started when the girls were in eighth grade at Maple Avenue Middle School. They credit Lake Avenue Elementary
School Principal Dr. Barbara Messier with helping them get this charitable endeavor off the ground.
For the past six months, Stories for Success has been able to provide every newborn at Saratoga Hospital with reading resources.
Stories for Success delivers a monthly donation of about 80 book bags, which is the average number of babies born at the hospital each month.
So far, the group has given out nearly 500 book bags through Saratoga Hospital, including almost 1,000 books, either gently used or brand new.
The group collaborates with local business, Northshire Bookstore, on the bags, which also includes a reading list created by the bookstore staff.
Recently Stories for Success has been focused on community outreach, tabling at area events such as Longshot the Moose Day and the Saratoga Children’s Theatre Community Market series. The organization hopes to do more of this in the coming months.
The outreach efforts have increased awareness about Stories for Success and its mission, which in turn helps the group collect donations.
Stories for Success is grateful for the generosity of the community in supporting this project. “It’s been really great to see just the sheer amount of donations that we’ve received so far,” Meyer said. Over the past year, when some folks were more financially strained due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the organization has raised nearly $4,000.
Looking ahead, Stories for Success aims to continue helping new parents and babies through the power of reading.
“We definitely are interested in expansion in the future,” Brueggemann said.
The group’s immediate goal is to make the organization a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
As the founders get closer
to finishing their high school careers and moving onto college, they’re also brainstorming ways to pass the project on to a younger generation of leaders.
Eventually, they would love for the initiative to grow beyond Saratoga Springs and supply books for every baby born within the entire Capital Region.
More information about Stories for Success is available online at storiesforsuccess.carrd.com
Stories for Success can also be found online at @ stories4success on Facebook and Instagram.
Anyone looking to support the group’s ongoing fundraiser can do so online at www.gofundme.com/f/ njxre-stories-for-success.
Those with gently used books to donate can contact Stories for Success at ciarameyer28@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up.