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Tree House Books COVID-19 Response

Friends, we rely on you all the time, but especially when times are rough. We sprang into action as soon as we knew schools were going to be closed and we haven’t stopped looking for ways to be a good neighbor and continue to make a difference for and with these kids. At this time, we need you too! 

Yellow Phase Plans

Tree House Books, in order to best prevent the spread of COVID-19 and make sure our community stays safe and healthy, moves into our reopening plan according to the plans set in place by an ad hoc committee of the board.

When Philadelphia moves into the “Yellow” phase, we will open summer camp. The reopening committee recognized the need for many of our constituent families who would be compelled to return to work in essential and other jobs and would not have other options for their children. The staff responded that they would need about 2 weeks to ready the space for it to be safe and ready for children. (Camp cleaning schedule here.) (Parent notification here.)

The Words on Wheels program would continue to be entirely virtual as our Literacy Specialist and Emma would continue to run that program online. 

We decided to keep the Giving Library closed until at least September due to concerns about volunteer staffing, possible cross contamination with program youth, and inability to maintain safe cleaning procedures. Our plan is to reevaluate and determine if we will reopen in August.

Outdoor food distribution would continue in two ways: the NDS program will continue to deliver 2 times a week with THB staff monitoring and distributing M/W/F. A new partnership with Urban Creators will allow for food distribution on 2 days alongside our food distribution days. Book carts and tables would be provided by THB during weekly distribution times, up to 5 days a week. (See below for more food distribution centers.)

THB office hours for administrative staff would be on a rotating basis to limit exposure. Michael would likely work from home, except for Fridays, when the Camp program is not running. Michael, Leonard and Emma would rotate responsibility for food distribution. Sabriaya would have office hours on Fridays, when camp is not running. Staff meetings would continue to happen virtually.

Please follow us @TreeHouseBooks on Instagram or Facebook for news and updates!

Tree House Food Distribution

Tree House Books is committed to addressing food insecurity during the quarantine orders and school closings. See the below list of the closest food distribution centers.

COVID - 19 Emergency Food Sites near 19121

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Tree House Books (Here)

Only for kids up to 18 
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
10am - 12pm
(We also have books and workbooks)

Note: The Duckery school food site is closed for the summer.

Association of Former Gang Members (1631 W. Susquehanna)

For anyone
1 Box of food per family
Monday, Thursday
10am - 12pm

More Sites here: https://www.phila.gov/2020-03-14-find-free-meals-and-safe-spaces-for-students-while-schools-are-closed/

Tree House Books notifications and statements

From the beginning of the crisis, the Tree House Books staff and board have been moving swiftly with every update to continue to provide our outstanding Access to Books and Literacy Programming. We are so proud to say that we nimbly transitioned into emergency food/book distribution as well as moving our literacy programs online. Below is a summary of our communication throughout this time with our networks and supporters. We will continue to update periodically as we move forward. Our most up-to-date info is always found on our Social Media channels. We also invite you to sign up for our email updates by using the form at the bottom of this page. (These links will open in a new window.)

Tree House Books Parent and Education Resources

We are collecting a list of links and resources to help our families and community through this time. You may find something helpful here too! Please feel free to share. Some of these are specifically for our After School program kids, created and compiled from our Program staff.

At Home Activity: Book Bundles

Here’s a quarantine activity for parents to do with their kids. Maybe being home has allowed you the opportunity to go through your books and find some that are ready for a new home? Read below for an activity that will give those titles new life! (Click Images to Enlarge)

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Partner Resources

If you are a partner org with Tree House and you would like to get some books for your food distribution site or home delivery, please see the image here and contact Emma@treehousebooks.org