The Peabody Education Foundation is pleased to announce that the JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation will once again be funding the Birthday Book Program for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year!

For several years, the PEF Grants Program Committee funded the Birthday Book Program at one of the City’s elementary schools. The idea of the Birthday Book Program was proposed by teachers Kara Migliozzi and Jill Holden who suggested that on a child’s birthday, they could pick out their own book and keep it forever.

Many children from within our City come from homes where books are not readily available. The goal of the Birthday Book Program is to help children and families see books as valuable treasures and treats that can be enjoyed as presents and shared with the entire family. The Birthday Book Program hopes to foster a love of reading and books, promote family time together, and help families to realize the importance of having books in the home to read again and again.

In 2021 and 2022, the PEF teamed up with JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation to fund the Birthday Book Program for every elementary school student in Peabody! Books were distributed by each school to their own students with a Happy Birthday sticker included inside each book. Each year, over 3000 elementary school students, grades preschool to fifth, were able to take their own special birthday book home and share it with their family!

The JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation has been a continuous supporter of the PEF and its programs for many years, and the PEF is truly grateful to the Foundation for its substantial contributions which have assisted in providing supplemental programs to Peabody Schools.

Learn more about our Birthday Book program by clicking below!

The Peabody Education Foundation provides unique programs and advanced technology to thousands of students who might otherwise not enjoy such experiences due to budget constraints. Our programs are intended to benefit and guide children as they develop into successful citizens and leaders. With the support of community members, like JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation, we are able to continue offering programs to encourage creativity and inspiration in Peabody’s students.

If you would like to make a donation to help fund our programs, please click below to visit our donation page. 100% of all donations raised go directly to our Peabody students and teachers!