Reducing Barriers to Book Access with the Guru Krupa Foundation
By Katherine Pantazis
The Brooklyn Book Bodega (BBB) was thrilled to receive a grant from the Guru Krupa Foundation (GKF) for the Reducing Barriers to Book Access program. The grant will support ten events over the course of 2023, with the aim of distributing 5,000 books in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, Brownsville, and Sunset Park, as well as at the Brooklyn Book Bodega Book Hub at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
BBB is excited to work with GKF, since the two organizations’ goals are well-aligned. According to GKF President and Founder, Mukund Padmanabhan, “BBB’s work is very much aligned with our priorities and is a great fit.”
GKF funds a diverse range of causes in both India and New York. With GKF’s support originating in anti-poverty initiatives and orphanages in India, the trustees soon realized that education is the common denominator to determining successful life outcomes. The trustees also realized there was an urgent need to fund similar programs in the US as well. “Our approach is multifaceted but, certainly, educating children is one of the most efficient ways of helping them break out of the cycle of poverty,” says Padmanabhan.
The Brooklyn Book Bodega stood out to Padmanabhan because he recognizes the importance of giving children access to books. “I used to spend a large part of my childhood reading so the notion of getting books into children's hands is very appealing to me. The books give them a way to get absorbed in what they like and allow their imagination to take flight . They also help them improve their reading and writing skills so they can communicate better.”
BBB Executive Director and co-founder Rebecca Cohen found out about GKF from an organization that requests books from BBB. When she researched their work with literacy organizations in New York, she suspected it might be a perfect fit.
“We are trying to create community around youth and literacy and also be in places where there has historically been less access to bookstores and perhaps libraries. What we know is that there is unequal access to opportunity in our city and the world. And, we want to do our part by increasing book ownership and supporting communities to nurture youth in literacy,” Cohen says.
“If you google ‘bookstore,’ and then look in Brooklyn, they’re clustered in a pretty small area,” she notes. “We use The Book Desert Map from Unite For Literacy as a tool to identify book deserts in our area.” And, in addition, “Books are expensive. We want to reduce barriers to book access by creating a third avenue for kids and caregivers to get books.”
Padmanabhan is looking forward to attending a book giveaway and developing a relationship with BBB, as he does with many local organizations he funds. “I have a bias for keeping things close to home, because the benefit of that is it enables me to go and actually visit the place. I would like to interact with kids who get the books, interact with the people who hand them out and curate them, so I know what the issues are.”
So far, GKF funds have been used for two events: a NYCHA baby shower for expecting parents and a community giveaway at the book hub. At these events BBB gave out 4,000 books to around 500 participants.
“Speaking to donors helps us to cast our work in a reflective light. Getting their perspective on what we’re doing helps us to grow,” says Cohen, “We are really thankful to have the partnership and support of the foundation.”
Of GKF’s work, Padmanabhan says, “Poverty alleviation and universal education are issues that can only be solved with resources on the scale of governments - whatever we do is a drop in the ocean, but we do what we can.”
Katherine Pantazis is a freelancer and former early childhood educator.