How could I forget? FreeRice.com

This is an old favorite of mine, called FreeRice.com. It incorporates educational, multiple-choice games into its mission to fight hunger. For every question you answer correctly, 10 grains of rice will be donated to the United Nations World Food Programme. It's fun, easy and free. If you've never heard of this site before, now is the time to visit and play some games, all for a good cause.

- Cristina

Editorial on hunger

Hi there, executive assistant/blog maintainer Cristina Herrera here. I found an interesting editorial from the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that highlights how much hunger has been increasing in the U.S.

Food banks report feeding 1 million more Americans each weekly than in 2009, and that includes the 36 percent of client households where at least one person has a job.

It later goes on to say,

The number of children in feeding programs increased by 50 percent since 2006, the report shows.

Editorial: American hunger

Laredo is no exception. Donate to your local food bank(s) today.

>South Texas Food Bank

>Laredo Regional Food Bank

And of course, the easiest contribution toward fighting hunger:

Daniel Chacón @ the library

In our previous post, we mentioned the authors program at the Laredo Public Library. It's called "An Evening with the Author." On Wednesday, April 21, Hudson Prize-winning author Daniel Chacon will speak and answer questions at the library.

What: An Evening with the Author

Who: Daniel Chacón

When: Wednesday, April 21, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Laredo Public Library

From his faculty profile on the UTEP Web site:

Daniel Chacón is the author of Unending Rooms, a collection of stories, winner of the Hudson Prize. He also had a novel, and the shadows took him, and another collection of stories called Chicano Chicanery. His fiction had appeared in the anthologies Lengua Fresca: Latinos Writing on the Edge; Caliente: The Best Erotic Writing in Latin American Fiction; and Best of the West 2009: New Stories from the West Side of the Missouri. He is co-editor of The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes: The Selected Works of Jose Antonio Burciaga.

One City 2010

It's that the time of the year again: We started thinking about authors for One City, One Book. Plans are under way and this year, we are going to have a 2-for-1 deal. We are currently planning fundraisers and accepting donations so that we will be able to keep One City, One Book free and available to everybody. The foundation is very excited because there has been so much support from the community in the past two years. We are looking at ways to make the book available for purchase locally, but it will be available at the Laredo Public Library. The kickoff for One City will be in early August, as usual. If you cannot wait, check out one of the authors coming to the Laredo Public Library. We will give more information about the library's author program, and the next author will be here this month.

If you have suggestions for activities connected with One City, One Book, feel free to e-mail them to laredofoodforthought@yahoo.com.

The foundation is committed to sharing the love of reading and helping those in need.

Note from President Beverly Herrera

On Saturday, January 16, Laredo's only bookstore closed. Officially, it was B. Dalton's bookstore, but Laredo citizens claimed it as their special place, mourning its death as one would a favorite family member. It may have been inevitable (Barnes & Noble announced long ago they were closing all B. Dalton's) but that made it no less of a shock and heartbreak to many members of the community. Yes, you can buy books off the Internet. You can go to the public library and check out books to read.

But Mary Benavides and her staff won't be there to greet you with a smile and tell you they just got a new book by your favorite author. Mary is the main reason Laredo had adopted the bookstore, and if you went by on the final day of business you would have seen a who's who of Laredo stopping to say farewell and buy a book. Few left without a purchase and none left without a special word, a hug and a smile from Mary. She has shown through her three decades of dedication to the readers of Laredo that she is a vital part of the community.

Even in the midst of closing the store, Mary has helped us plan for this year's One City event, suggesting authors, venues and activities. Watching Mary in action has humbled me. No matter what I do, I will never touch as many hearts as she does on a daily basis. I wish only the best in life for Mary and her staff. She deserves far more than we realize.

If nothing else, the citizens of Laredo have made the country aware that we are more than a group of illiterate, poor people. We are people who love to read, love to learn and love those who share these passions. When authors visit, they leave raving about the generosity and the earnestness of the people they met. I understand this because I am not a native Laredoan, but have lived here for more than 20 years. I have never met anything other than acceptance, and for that I thank everyone. I see people who have little sharing with those who have less. I watch families celebrate academic achievements of their children. When people look at Laredo, they should see a place with some problems, but with citizens who are willing to fix these problems, and who have tremendous hope for the future.

Thanks to all those who have supported Mary and her bookstore through the years, and thanks to all those who have made our One City, One Book such a success that we are being used as a model throughout the nation. It is because of you that we have been a success, and if we do get another bookstore it will be up to you to show the nation that we really do read and that we really do want a place where we can touch literature and talk to someone who understands our love of reading. A new bookstore will live or die on the actions of our citizens. Hopefully we will never have to mourn the loss of another bookstore.

Beverly Herrera

President

The Food for Thought Foundation

Book Trailer for Night Fires

George Edward Stanley has written a wonderful novel for young adults called Night Fires, and President Beverly Herrera has created a book trailer similar to Secretary Escamilla's trailer for Chains. Ms. Herrera's classes have also created many wonderful trailers for a variety of books, from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold to The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Enjoy the trailer, and maybe it'll get you interested in reading the book.

Chains Book Trailer

Happy new year, everybody!

Secretary Carmen Escamilla created a book trailer promoting the award-winning Chains and it has been posted on Amy Bowllan's blog on the School Library Journal's Web site. Ms. Bowllan writes posts dealing with the topic of racism.

Check it out!