My name is Valerie, and I am a consultant with Usborne Books and More. I am also a former teacher.

I used to drive past some of A New Leaf’s Mesa, AZ facilities on my way to work every day. I had never heard of them before, so after a few weeks, I looked them up and immediately wanted to help their cause.   Turn A New Leaf is an organization that works with homeless and at-risk families. Among their facilities are two domestic violence shelters that provide emergency housing to those fleeing domestic abuse. As I’m sure you can image, the kids they serve are not only looking at a difficult holiday season, but have also been struggling with distance learning during the pandemic. So, I am raising money to provide quality and interactive homework helping books for these kids this holiday season.

Homework helpers are really important right now due to the pandemic’s affects on in-person learning. I thought for a while about which books would be best, and met with A New Leaf’s philanthropy department about which books would best fit their needs. We agreed that an interactive and sturdy math book would be the best place to start. So, our first goal is to get each of the school-aged kids one of Usborne's lift-the-flap math books. Since Usborne Books and More will half match all donations, we only need to raise $500 to get one of these books for each child at the shelters. So, I have set a goal of $1000 in order to get them both the math book and a fun science book, with a little extra to get something for their non-school-aged siblings. But I don't want to stop there! There are stretch goals I can't wait to show you!

As a former teacher, I am extremely passionate about the power of books. I hope you will help me give these kids a holiday to remember!