Literacy nonprofit for poor children closes
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Beginning with Books, a pioneering early-intervention literacy program that for 26 years brought the joy, power and opportunity of reading to thousands of poor Pittsburgh children, ceased operation Friday, a nonprofit victim of tough economic times.
The organization, headquartered in East Liberty, told its paid staff of 17 on Wednesday that it no longer could run numerous literacy programs it operated with them and hundreds of volunteers. Programs included teaching parents and day-care workers how to read to children, providing high-quality, educational books to children, and operating two Storymobiles, among other initiatives.
Pat Cepko Polansky said it became clear shortly after she became board chairwoman in January that something drastic had to be done for the organization to continue into the next fiscal year, which began July 1. Corporations and foundations, facing an unstable economy themselves, had drastically cut donations and grants to the organization or didn't renew them when they ran their course, she said.
Belt-tightening didn't work. So dire was the outlook for the organization -- which operated last fiscal year on a budget of about $1.5 million -- that only a merger with a similar organization was seen as a way to continue to offer some of its programs. Despite discussions with other literacy agencies, a merger didn't transpire because other organizations were having their own fiscal problems, Ms. Polansky said.
"Every literacy organization wanted to see us survive and worked hard to do so ... but it just wasn't going to happen," she said. "I believed in fairy tales for six months, waiting for a white knight like in one of the books, but he never came."
Interim executive director Linda Pool said "heartbreak and tears, lots and lots of tears" accompanied the closure.
"We have so much expertise, and that's what makes me sad," she said. "So many children, thousands a year, received services."
The hope now is that staff members will be able to find employment with other similar organizations here, she said.
"We are having some conversations that may bear fruit. Other organizations may be taking over some of our programs and staff people," she said. "We are working very hard on that. We would love to have everyone get a position."
Even though the organization has ceased to operate, Ms. Polansky said, its goal lives on.
"Unlike a commercial shutdown, we're still working really hard to keep this alive," she said. "It's not a monetary thing anymore; it's keeping the idea and concept alive."
First Published August 8, 2010 12:00 am
