Dear Friend of Beginning with Books,

After 26 years of service to young children and families in Pittsburgh, Beginning with Books will be closing its doors and ceasing operations, as of August 6.

Many factors necessitated this difficult decision. They include the challenging economic conditions which resulted in fewer donations and changes in funding priorities from some of our foundation supporters. We have been working very hard for the past several months to create a plan that would sustain our programs, but were unable to do so.

Everyone at BwB — our devoted staff members, our Board of Directors, and our visionary founders, Betty Segel and Joan Friedberg — are greatly saddened that we will no longer be able to serve local low-income children and families with our early literacy programs and services. We are proud of the exceptional work we have done in the Pittsburgh region. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve young children and fulfill our mission to increase meaningfully the numbers of children who become capable and enthusiastic lifelong readers. We know we have accomplished this for many children, and we know we have raised awareness of the importance of early literacy and reading aloud to young children.

As we wind up our work, you can reach us through August 31 by calling our office at 412-361-8560, or by contacting Lisa Olszak, who is managing the close out, at lolszak@olszak.com.

Thank you for partnering with us and supporting our mission. We could not have done it without you.