Hello, friends, and welcome! My name is Lauren and I am the School Liaison with Second Star to the Right Books. If you’ve seen me on your laptop screen or classroom projector these past two years, you know that’s my signature greeting for virtual events! You may also have read my welcome message in the monthly Educator Newsletter or maybe I’ve read a book to your classroom - often dressed as Wonder Woman! If we haven’t met yet, allow me to introduce myself!
Although I’ve been popping in and out of the book world for the better part of two decades, I’ve been with Second Star to the Right for more than four years now - and it’s been the most incredible experience I’ve ever had in this industry!
I was hired to work part-time, remotely, coordinating school author visits and maintaining the school relationships. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the store and the people who ran it, so when a couple of employees left at the same time, I went to Dea, the store owner, and said, “Look, I’m definitely crazy, but don’t hire anyone to fill these roles. Let me do it all. I can grow all of these programs and do all of these jobs myself.” By some miracle, Dea agreed and I was full-time with Second Star to the Right.
Those days, I coordinated and hosted all of our events and storytimes, author visits, community programs, school events - and more! I have always had a passion for sharing stories and helping small businesses grow, so some days it truly felt like Second Star was created just for me. It didn’t feel like work; It felt like I had finally found my calling.
These days, Second Star has grown so much that I focus solely on our school programming and finding more ways to get resources into your classrooms and connect you and your students with the stories and creators you love!
One thing I’ve heard from so many educators in our community is that there just isn’t enough to go around - enough time, energy, books, supplies, budget, etc. We know that you’ve faced unprecedented obstacles these past two years while doing the most important work out there - shaping the minds of our youth! Second Star works with several local nonprofits, including Books to Kids and Burning Through Pages, as well as community partners, publishers, local authors and more to help connect you with the resources you need to be the best educators you can be!
If you haven’t already, you can sign up here to receive our Educator Newsletter, where we share information about author visits, educator resources, fun events, classroom supplies and more! We also host a monthly educator giveaway with fun, new prizes each month! You can get access to advanced reader copies of books and even submit your reviews to be sent to the publishers!
The best part of my job is getting to connect with all of you and help you connect with the authors, tools and resources you need to be empowered in your role as educators! Come visit us at our new location for Independent Bookstore Day on April 30th and learn more about all of our school programs and the ways we can support your classrooms! You can find more information about our full day of free events here (including a special guest appearance by local authors Dow Phumiruk and Andrea Wang!) or join us for the after party, with cocktails, mocktails and snacks. I’ll be there all day to celebrate and can’t wait to see you there!
Next month, you’ll hear from a Jeffco school librarian who is not only a big part of supporting our school programming, but is also a big part of supporting me, as a human, by being an incredible friend. Suzanne interviewed award-winning author Andrea Wang for us as part of a fundraising campaign for a Title I school. Come back again next month to read all about it!
Until then, thanks for being here, and Happy Reading, friends!
Comments