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Reading Heart

The Ferguson girls check out part of a donation of books by Amazon’s FAT1 distribution facility in Fresno back in March 2022. Photo contributed

published on March 8, 2023 - 2:48 PM
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First 5 Fresno County has released ownership of an Airstream trailer to Reading Heart, a local, kid-run nonprofit that provides books to children in hospitals and areas with limited access to books.

Danay Ferguson founded Reading Heart at age 8 because “she wanted to share her passion for reading and the joy of escaping in a good book with other children.”

Eight years later, the organization has grown, continuing to promote literacy and help children find a love of reading. Reading Heart now has book drop-off locations throughout the Fresno area, has collected over 1.2 million books, gone on book tours and visited 254 schools to give children access to books.

“With this new trailer we’ll be able to expand our adventures, truly making our reach as limitless as a child’s imagination,” said Ferguson.

The Airstream was formerly used by First 5 as the Breastfeeding Friendly(BFF) Express, which served as a mobile breastfeeding unit that raised awareness and support for breastfeeding as the healthiest start for babies and normalized support for nursing women, as well as their families

The release of the Airstream comes after California legislation has been implemented to protect and enhance breastfeeding support in various settings, and First 5 no longer has use for it.

“We are proud of the awareness and education that the BFF Express helped to bring over the last decade, and are thrilled  for the new life it will have in support of another critical factor in the healthiest start of a child: early literacy,” states Fabiola  González, Executive Director of First 5 Fresno County.

“Re-investing one of our assets to continue supporting young  children and families in new ways is a win-win for our community,” said Supervisor Pacheco, the Chair of the First 5 Fresno  County Commission.   

In the coming weeks, the BFF Express will be converted into a mobile tutoring lab and library to help get books to children throughout the county. In this new chapter, the Airstream will join Reading Heart’s fleet of vehicles, including the “Reada the Reading Ram” and “Booker,” the organizations book trailer. The new mission of the BFF Express, or the “Book Baby,” is set to launch later this spring.


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