The Blue Manatee Literacy Project and the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati have partnered to create the Queen City Book Bank.
Queen City Book Bank founders: CEO Michelle Otten Guenther, Board Chair Kevin Kushman and COO Amanda Kranias.
On Friday, Oct. 29 the Queen City Book Bank hosted their grand opening celebration and officially opened their doors in support of the Greater Cincinnati literacy community. The QCBB will serve as a resource hub to guarantee book access to the estimated 35,000 Greater Cincinnati K-6 students who lack consistent, if any, access to books and to provide supportive literacy programming.
Queen City Book Bank CEO Michelle Otten Guenther, Scripps Howard Foundation Community Giving Manager Casey Ruschman, the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation’s Senior Vice President and Program Manager Leslie Maloney and Queen City Book Bank Board Chair Kevin Kushman.
The Scripps Howard Foundation and The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Foundation have been early “Startup
Champions” of the QCBB, funding a generous combined total of $470,000 in support of the mission. The
QCBB’s mission is tro provide 10 books per year, every year, to students who otherwise would not have access.
At scale, the QCBB plans to distribute 350,000 books every year to underserved children to accelerate their
paths to become proficient readers.