Tree House Books, a nonprofit organization that is growing and sustaining a community of readers, writers and thinkers in North Philadelphia, has been named a 2022 Champion in Action® in the category of Innovation & Transformation. The award, presented by Citizens, NBC10/Telemundo62 and The Philadelphia Inquirer includes $35,000 in unrestricted funding, as well as promotional and volunteer support for the organization’s outstanding work.
Tree House Books executes several innovative programs that focus on enhancing the lives of those in the community. They measure their impact in two distinct areas: access to books and literacy. Some of these unique programs under their Access to Books portfolio include the Giving Library, Traveling Tee House Bookmobile, Words on Wheels Summer Book Delivery Service and Community Bookshelves. They also provide literacy programming via their After School and Summer Studios, Black Girls Book Club, Pre-K Storytellers, and Teen Literacy and Leadership Programs. From the day their organization was founded, THB has been transforming their North Philadelphia community through enriching and empowering programming that deliveries literacy to those that are traditionally underserved.
"We believe in the power of books and literacy to change lives," says Michael Brix, executive director at Tree House Books. "We do this by making sure everyone has access to books and offering dynamic literacy programming. We highlight Black and brown authors and feature books telling Black stories. We know we can’t do it alone, so we are grateful for people and organizations like Citizens, who can help us reach more people and share our work. Tree House Books is honored to be receiving the Champion in Action award, which will help to continue our mission to raise a community of readers, writers and thinkers impacting our neighborhood."
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
“NBC10 and Telemundo62 are pleased to recognize Tree House Books for their remarkable work in providing books and literacy programming to children in our community,” said Ric Harris, president and general manager of NBC10 and Telemundo62. “We are committed to supporting THB’s mission to grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers in North Philadelphia.”
The Champions in Action program, now in its 20th year, has awarded more than $10 million in contributions and promotional support to 367 nonprofits across the bank’s footprint. In Greater Philadelphia, 53 nonprofits have been honored, receiving more than $1.5 million.
“Kudos to the team at Tree House Books for their ability to quickly recognize the dramatic and adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning, and to develop a model that would bring books directly to students,” said Dan Fitzpatrick, Mid-Atlantic president for Citizens. “Creating a life-long love of reading also creates a passion for learning that will benefit students of any age throughout their academic and professional careers, and beyond.”
