The Book Bank Foundation

Why It Exists

The Work

Impact

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The Book Bank Foundation
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Somebody’s child is sleeping outside tonight.

We go out and find them with hot food, warm clothes, and proof that somebody still cares. One person choosing to care tonight can be the reason somebody makes it to morning. Be that person. Help us keep the light on.

Somebody’s child is sleeping outside tonight.

We go out and find them with hot food, warm clothes, and proof that somebody still cares. One person choosing to care tonight can be the reason somebody makes it to morning. Be that person. Help us keep the light on.

The reason behind the work

Survival should never be the end of the story.

Our founder was eight years old the night everything his family owned was set out on a Brooklyn sidewalk. The story begins one scroll below. The work is why it did not end there.

Help write the next chapter
See where it began
The Book Bank Foundation

501(c)(3) nonprofit

Registered, and in good standing.

Tax-deductible

Every gift, to the fullest extent the law allows.

Atlanta and New York

Two cities. People we see every single week.

Chapter one · The day everything changed

Before the foundation, there was a sidewalk.

He came home one day to find his toys, the furniture, everything his family owned, sitting out in the open air on Sterling Place in Crown Heights. He was born on that block. What followed were low-cost hotels, relatives, friends, government agency support, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and sleepless nights in Grand Central Station.

Hear the reason in his own words

Chapter two · A book in hand

His circumstances told him where he was. Books told him where he could go.

Reading did not put a roof over his head. It did something quieter, and it lasted a lot longer. It widened what he was able to picture for himself. A life you can picture is a life you can start walking toward.

We were never physically, emotionally, or spiritually abused. We never missed any meals. We were only without a house, never really without a home.

Dr. Glenn Toby

Chapter three · The promise

Founder

Est. 1997

What saved him became his life’s work.

He did not start this after he made it. He started it because he never forgot what it felt like to be looked past, and how quickly a family can go from fine to invisible.

That is the promise underneath all of it. He built it for the lost, the lonely and the forgotten, on the understanding that no success is finished until it opens a door for somebody else.

Along the way he has been a manager, a songwriter, a composer and a producer, and he has given that same time to Camp Cool-J, AmeriCorps and The Jerry Lewis Telethon. His life is The Book Bank Foundation. His gift is your involvement.

Dr. Glenn Toby, Founder and Chairman of The Book Bank Foundation

Dr. Glenn Toby

Founder · Chairman · Emeritus

In his own words

Hear why the work is personal.

Before the programs, the statistics, and the service days, there was a promise not to look away from people the world had learned to pass by.

The work in motion

Chapters in motion

Five chapters, running all year. This is where the story leaves the page and shows up on somebody’s block.

01 · LiteracyBooks and LearningBooks into hands, tutoring, and learning support.
The work this foundation is named for. Books put into hands, tutoring, readings, and learning support for children and adults who were counted out of it.
02 · NourishmentFeeding Families InitiativeReal meals cooked, packed, and handed over every week.
Every week we cook, pack and hand over real meals to seniors and families who are choosing between groceries and rent. Nobody is asked to prove they deserve it.
03 · DignityShelter from the StreetClean socks, hygiene kits, and warm clothing, that night.
We walk the blocks where people are sleeping and bring what actually helps that night. Clean socks, hygiene kits, warm clothing, and a conversation that treats a person like a person.
04 · CultureKings Exhibition and BBF ArtArt that funds the outreach and seats neighbors as guests.
Art pays for outreach here. Exhibitions and cultural nights raise the money that funds service days, and they put our neighbors in the room as guests, never as case studies.
05 · FlightAviation CampTwo days from hangar to cockpit, with logged flight hours.
Two days that put a young person inside a hangar, a simulator and a real cockpit. They leave with flight hours in a logbook and proof that the profession has room for them.Visit the camp
LiteracyBooks and LearningThe work this foundation is named for. Books put into hands, tutoring, readings, and learning support for children and adults who were counted out of it.
NourishmentFeeding Families InitiativeEvery week we cook, pack and hand over real meals to seniors and families who are choosing between groceries and rent. Nobody is asked to prove they deserve it.
DignityShelter from the StreetWe walk the blocks where people are sleeping and bring what actually helps that night. Clean socks, hygiene kits, warm clothing, and a conversation that treats a person like a person.
CultureKings Exhibition and BBF ArtArt pays for outreach here. Exhibitions and cultural nights raise the money that funds service days, and they put our neighbors in the room as guests, never as case studies.
FlightAviation CampTwo days that put a young person inside a hangar, a simulator and a real cockpit. They leave with flight hours in a logbook and proof that the profession has room for them.Visit the camp

Proof in practice

The work should leave a record.

Care matters. So do dates, places, and numbers somebody can check.

300k+

people served in a year

12,000

meals every month

20,000+

pairs of socks handed over

10

families adopted each winter

Figures as published by The Book Bank Foundation. They vary by source and year and have not been independently audited. Reporting period, geography and methodology are being documented for the next impact report.

The method · six points

How a person moves from surviving to deciding.

01BelieveMotivational speaking
02SeeModels of positive behavior and resourceful thinking
03LearnScholastic achievement and educational stimulation
04AimGoal setting
05StandSelf-esteem building
06BecomeTestimonial achievement
01BelieveMotivational speaking
02SeeModels of positive behavior and resourceful thinking
03LearnScholastic achievement and educational stimulation
04AimGoal setting
05StandSelf-esteem building
06BecomeTestimonial achievement

Three ways in

Pick the door you want to walk through.

01GiveFund the next service day. Any amount moves it forward, and small gifts add up faster than people think.
02ServeCome cook, sort, carry boxes, or just show up and be useful. We will find you a place.
03Build with usSchools, churches, teams and companies. Bring your people and let us serve together.
01GiveFund the next service day. Any amount moves it forward, and small gifts add up faster than people think.
02ServeCome cook, sort, carry boxes, or just show up and be useful. We will find you a place.
03Build with usSchools, churches, teams and companies. Bring your people and let us serve together.

The force behind the mission

The people who make it happen

Dr. Glenn Toby
Dr. Glenn TobyFounder · Chairman · Emeritus
John Addison
John AddisonNational President
K. Botchey
K. BotcheyAtlanta President
D’Anthony Johnson
D’Anthony JohnsonLeadership Team
Barbara Tucker
Barbara TuckerGlobal Ambassador
Dr. Glenn Toby
Dr. Glenn TobyFounder · Chairman · Emeritus
John Addison
John AddisonNational President
K. Botchey
K. BotcheyAtlanta President
D’Anthony Johnson
D’Anthony JohnsonLeadership Team
Barbara Tucker
Barbara TuckerGlobal Ambassador

The purpose behind the work

Many rooms. One reason.

Music

gave him a voice.

Sports

gave him access.

Business

gave him leverage.

Books

gave him a system.

The Foundation turns all of it back toward people.
The Foundation turns all of it back toward people.

The charter

Our missionTo promote literacy by providing books and literature to underprivileged children and adult members of our community, and provide resources for combating abuse, hunger, and homelessness.
Our visionTo decrease illiteracy through sound and innovative methods that promote learning, social awareness, and individual prosperity.
Our missionTo promote literacy by providing books and literature to underprivileged children and adult members of our community, and provide resources for combating abuse, hunger, and homelessness.
Our visionTo decrease illiteracy through sound and innovative methods that promote learning, social awareness, and individual prosperity.

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Tell us when you are free and what you like doing. We will find you a place.

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Partner and participate

Schools, churches, teams and companies. Let us build something together.

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The Book Bank Foundation

Help us save as many lives as we can, because the reality is that any one of us may be just a paycheck away from homelessness.

Dr. Glenn Toby, Founder

You did that.
Help write the next chapter
Serve with us

Replay Dr. Glenn’s message

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