Birthday Book Program

Happy Birthday Students!

For several years, the PEF Grants Committee had been funding the Birthday Book Program at one of our elementary schools.  The idea of the Birthday Book Program was brought to us 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 Books 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, the PEF teamed up with JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation to fund the Birthday Book Program for every elementary school student in Peabody!  Books are distributed by each school to their own students with a Happy Birthday sticker included inside each book.  Over 3000 elementary school students are now able to take their own birthday book home and share it with their family!

And because of the generous funding of sponsors such as the JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation, the Birthday Books Program is now a permanent part of the Peabody Education Foundation’s commitment to our children!  Every year, every elementary student will be able to bring home that special birthday book!

Huge thanks to the Peabody Education Foundation and the JB Thomas-Lahey Foundation for making this possible. Having worked in an elementary school, I can tell you firsthand that helping kids to feel special on their birthday means so much more than you could ever imagine. Our city is extremely diverse, and we know that many students have extremely different experiences on their birthdays. This program will make every elementary student in the Peabody Public Schools feel special and important on their birthday and it will help promote literacy skills. I cannot thank you all enough for bringing this incredible gift to our students.

Josh Vadala

Peabody Superintendent of Schools

Check out pictures of our Birthday Book Program:

Support our Birthday Book Program 

If you would like to make a donation to help fund our Birthday Book Program or any of our other initiatives, please click the button below to view our donation page!

Peabody Education Foundation

The Peabody Education Foundation provides unique programs and advanced technology to thousands of students and teachers who might otherwise not enjoy such experiences due to budget constraints.

P.O. Box 233
Peabody, MA 01960

info@peabodyedfoundation.org