Community Partner Highlight: Kimberly Maier of The Old Stone House
By Tyler McClure
Community Partner Highlight: Kimberly Maier of The Old Stone House
You know the old saying, “It takes a village”? The saying highlights the power of shared effort in a community when it comes to making an impact on children. The Old Stone House is a nonprofit organization located within the J.J. Byrne Playground in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Old Stone House offers various community engagement activities ranging from education to arts and culture. It also serves as a Brooklyn Book Bodega book drop site for book donations from community members.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Executive Director of Old Stone House, Kimberly Maier. We discussed the beginning and growing collaboration between Brooklyn Book Bodega and Old Stone House. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did Old Stone House’s relationship with Brooklyn Book Bodega start?
We learned about Brooklyn Book Bodega through the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. [The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store is the storefront of a nonprofit organization in Park Slope called 826NYC that aims to encourage children through writing.] Because they were not able to continue the collection, they just felt like they didn't have enough room to manage it. So they asked us if we would be willing to be a drop off site. We see so many families, and we're a community center. So it was easy enough for us to do it.
Do you believe more people are attracted to the Old Stone House because of the book drop site?
Absolutely, I think it's definitely been a way for us to raise awareness of our work as well. Because we broadcast the amplification the Brooklyn Book Bodega needs. People have also come to understand that the house is an open place. It's so much more than the bathroom. We joke about that all the time. You know, it looks like a little storybook cottage. It's not all that easy to understand that you can just walk in the door and come to the exhibit and come see the contemporary art shows. As people come in, they're seeing the posters for upcoming events and they have a chance to experience the interior of the house and to learn more about what we're doing in a way that they might not if they weren't just coming to bring their books for the Bodega.
Tell me about your book donors. Do you notice any frequent donors?
Well, it's so interesting. We see our parents whose children are moving out of elementary school or out of middle school, so there is some crossover. We're just starting to see some of that crossover from parents who brought us their elementary-age books. We've been doing it long enough that we're starting to see them bring their sort of tween and young adult books. I think that we'll see more of that as we continue the partnership because we're basically growing up with our donor’s kids, and they're passing those books along as their kids grow older. We also have some donors who work for publishing houses, so we see them regularly. We also see authors bringing overstock of their own books.
Are there any other ways books are used at Old Stone House?
We have a little book-lending library that looks just like the Old Stone House over by our North garden. And it's very well frequented. Lots of caregivers and kids during the day. I see people stopping by in the morning on their way to work, and sometimes in the evening on their way home.
How does Old Stone House promote the collaboration with Brooklyn Book Bodega?
We try to do regular social media posts. We've done articles in our newsletter. I feel like it's such a great goal for every kid in Brooklyn to have 100+ books. I think very much that we live in a community that understands the benefit of reading. So, just broadcasting that out and amplifying the Bodega’s message, it really fits in our mission. We all should have access to a really good education. We should all have access to these resources. It's not equitable right now at all. So if we can help support that effort, especially from a community like ours, it's really important to be able to do it.
Do you have anything to share about Brooklyn Book Bodega?
I think they are a well-oiled machine. I think we all have a lot to learn from them and how they've really made this massive volunteer effort to grow the organization – to make it possible to do the work that they do. I think it's a tremendous act of love and generosity. I think that is something that we all need to keep in mind as nonprofit organizations that are working in the community; to be willing to say yes, to be open to the ideas that come to you from the community, and to not be afraid to take the leap and do the work.
The Old Stone House is located at 336 Third Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues and 3rd and 4th Streets in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more about their interactive exhibits, their history, and their calendar of events via their website.
Tyler McClure attends St. Francis College and majors in Literature, Writing, & Publishing. She is Brooklyn Book Bodega’s spring 2024 intern.
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