Another Step Closer to Our Book Stork !! Plans to create a soft-toy version of our book stork “mascot” to help us raise awareness of our program keep moving along - slowly but moving still. The book stork will be approximately 18 inches tall, made of soft but sturdy, washable material and able to stand on its own.

A Newfoundland & Labrador member of the Canadian Doll Artists Association, S. Nicole Pitcher, is making a prototype. (Website: www3.nf.sympatico.ca/sheldon.pitcher). If you know of any toy-makers in your community who would be interested in working on our book storks, please give them the contact information for the provincial office in Corner Brook. (see the yellow section above)

(Tina Stewart, left, accepts the donation from Kathy Norman, Assistant Manager, CIBC Corner Brook, right)

Financial and In-Kind Support continues to grow for Books for Babies®. In August, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) donated $1000 to our provincial program as a result of a funding proposal submitted to the Corner Brook branch. (Tina Stewart, left, accepts the donation from Kathy Norman, Assistant Manager, CIBC Corner Brook, right) This donation has been used to offset the cost of our new supply of tote bags for families with newborn babies.

We had a 50% increase in requests for initial packages in the past year, so an additional 1000 bags were hurriedly produced in July by Mill Lane Enterprises and Galaxy Artworks to meet that demand.

Since those tote bags were delivered , our stock has been flying off the shelves in the book-room. As this edition of The Book Stork goes to print, 400 have already been distributed throughout the province.

Mill Lane has kept our production costs at a minimum and support from the corporate community helps to keep our materials at or below cost for our delivery sites. It also confirms our program’s reputation for high quality, affordable materials.