Panera Bread Hosts 8th ‘Knead to Read’
BOOKMARKING A DATE: Union Intermediate High School Director of the Student Council Darin Thompson, Arts Society Intern Katie Feiock, Panera Bread Owner Sue Stees, and Resonance Youth Activities Director Paula Royce informed area high school students about Knead 2 Read and the city-wide Student Council Spring Convention.
TRACEY NORVELL, Arts Society
Every child “kneads” to have books, or so believes Panera Bread. On April 26 the eight Tulsa-area bakery-cafes will host the fourth annual Knead 2 Read Children’s Book Drive.
This year’s beneficiary is Resonance, a support center for women and their families.
According to Resonance Youth Activities Director Paula Royce, the books will help launch a program called Mother Read, a collaboration between Resonance and Junior League. For children whose mothers are incarcerated in Oklahoma jails, Mother Reads will put both a book and a recording of the mother reading the book in the hands of Oklahoma children.
“We hope to build a library for each child,” says Royce. “With the support of Knead 2 Read, we will be well on our way.”
During the 2004 Knead 2 Read book drive, 6,657 books were collected for the beneficiary, The Parent Child Center of Tulsa.
This year, Tulsa area high school student councils kicked off Knead 2 Read 2005 by selecting it as their spring convention service project.
“Each year it’s exciting to see more and more people bring in books. Often companies and schools will even arrange competitions between departments or classrooms to see which group collects more books. One year, students at Elliot Elementary brought in more than 800 books,” reports Panera Bread Co-owner Sue Stees.
Knead 2 Read donors also win. For each book donated during the book drive, the donor receives a gift certificate for a free bagel. Limit: 3 bagel gift certificates per individual donor. Groups such as civic organizations or classrooms can participate by collecting 100 or more books to receive a Panera Bread breakfast for 25 people. Books must be in good condition and contain appropriate text and images for children aged birth to 12 years old.
Updated 04-26-2005
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