Buddies, Bridges and Brains, Inc.

* Book and a Blanket Project - gives PreK to Grade 2 students a new fleece blanket and a new age-appropriate book.  In 2007, this project gave book and blanket sets to 3,000 children with the help of over 500 volunteers.

* One on one literacy program--links proficient readers with a young learner once a month for 30 minutes.  This is a collaboration with the Scott Spino Foundation (www.scottspinofoundation.org)

Make a Difference Day--this annual national day of service is the last weekend in October.  We usually clean up and paint around the schools, and bring lots of extra supplies for neighbors who come to find out what all the excitement is about! (www.usaweekend.com/diffday )

Day of Caring-- this is a local United Way day of service in the spring.  Typically it is scheduled for a time that is perfect for  planting, and kids LOVE to get dirty!!  We raise the money for plants, and the students work together to create an outdoor learning space.

* Pen pal/challenge projects-- we create challenge boxes that include books about science, social studies and/or math topics.  Students in paired and dissimilar classrooms write to eachother about the projects included, and the books.  They predict, hypothesize and suggest improvementsher to the projects. Whenever possible, the classes meet for a field trip together.

"The focus of our projects always needs to be first on relationships, and then on resources."

 Karen Guidarelli, Founder