For the Love of Reading

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Knoxville, TN
For the Love of Reading

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Mission Statement: For the Love of Reading - Expanding minds and hearts through the pure joy of reading. Two giveaways per year, per grade.

The Program Basics:

Our program takes on a model conducive with encouraging children to enjoy book choice and reading. Major components of the program include:

Book giveaways on a grade-level basis. Children can choose two books at each giveaway.·

Volunteer readers in as many classrooms as possible. These readers work with teachers to find a weekly time to read quality, vetted books to the class.·

Emphasis on the importance of choosing books to read for pure enjoyment.·

Commitment to bringing new or like-new books for our book giveaways, as every child should feel that he or she is acquiring a special item of their own.·

Dedication to providing a wide variety of book genres and topics as well as high quality and developmentally appropriate book choices.·

Maximization of used book donations through McKay’s Used Books credit; turning used books into like-new choices. Our History:
In 2016, Beth Scoonover began taking steps to bring a vision to reality. She wanted to bring to life the world of books for the children at Christenberry Elementary. She found immediate enthusiasm and support from her faith community, Crossings. This initiative has now developed into a full program called “For the Love of Reading”, and it has grown considerably over the past several years. Beth now recruits and coordinates volunteers to read to students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade at Christenberry Elementary School every week. And the book distribution has expanded to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades—providing over 1000 books to children in the 2018-2019 school year alone! Our Vision:
For the Love of Reading is an innovative approach to address the needs of children in our community. Less than 40% of children are reading at or above grade level by third grade in Knox County Schools. And while the schools (teachers and administration) are working hard to address this issue, the community can also play a role. While teachers are focused on helping children develop the skills they need to read, For the Love of Reading comes alongside teachers and administrators to help instill in students the intrinsic love for picking up a good book. If children are self-motivated readers, their limits are boundless! In partnership with teachers, administration, and staff, this initiative strives to inspire the love of reading in children, so that their imaginations might soar and their success in school might blossom as they hear and read more and more fantastic stories. After speaking with educators at other Knox County schools, we know that there is a felt need for this kind of program to expand.

10/30/2026

Elephant and Piggie had so much fun helping books find new homes at Wesley House Community Center’s Fall Festival last week! Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween weekend!

10/29/2026

A little bit of the “why” behind our volunteer classroom reader program!

10/22/2026

This week we had our first ever giveaway at Inskip Elementary, and we were overwhelmed with the love and gratitude they showed us! Swipe for a peek at the day and more sweet thank you notes 💙

“Thank you! I never experience something so fun! It’s like there was a spark in my soul.”

4th graders choosing their brand new books!

“Thank you I can’t wait! To read the book Unicorn Academy and Wallace and Grace those are the two books I got and it going to be fun!”

Just one of 7 tables students could choose from!

“Thank you so much for the books I’m so excited to read the books I got!”

10/19/2026

We had a blast at our first giveaway at Spring Hill Elementary last week! 941 books found new homes, and we went home with full hearts. Already counting down the days until we’re back in February 📚

10/14/2026

A huge thank you to our friends at Knoxville Utilities Board! We are so grateful to have been part of KUB’s Week of Service and that it connects us with all-stars like these five ladies! Thank you for being a friend to FTLOR 💙

10/08/2026

Calling all helpers! We have a busy giveaway season coming up and would love to have you join in on the fun! Reach out through our website or email [email protected] to get the inside scoop on how you can help us distribute thousands of books to our community’s children 🥳📚❤️

10/07/2026

This , we’re taking you behind the scenes💛

Our West Town team had the opportunity to volunteer alongside United Way Greater Knoxville through For the Love of Reading, giving back to the community we’re so grateful to call home📚✨

Moments like these are a sweet reminder of what it means to Stand Out For Good—showing up, lending a hand, and pouring a little more love into the communities around us.

We’re so thankful for the opportunity to serve together💛

10/02/2026

This week we kicked off our book giveaway season at Christenberry Elementary School! If only this post could capture all of the excited gasps and conversations about their new books!

09/28/2026

Had a blast at Lonsdale Elementary’s Hispanic Heritage Night last week! ❤️

09/25/2026

Thank you to the ladies from altardstatekids who volunteered yesterday to help make our to-do lists a little shorter! They helped us sort a whopping 709 books!!! Which is a tedious task that would typically take our team WEEKS amongst our other duties. Because of them, we have new books out in our library at Wesley House Community Center, donations sorted and put away, and a refreshed inventory ready for a busy giveaway season! We are so grateful for United Way of Greater Knoxville and to have been a part of their Week of Caring.

Address

Knoxville, TN

Website

http://ftlor.org/

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