Ahhh, to be a teen-ager again. Pizza joints. The latest blockbuster. Passing time with friends. Hang on a second … kids these days are doing some pretty amazing things — and our friends at Nestlé are honoring 20 impressive teens with incredible stories to tell.

Nestlé’s Very Best In Youth program identifies teens making a profound difference in the lives of others. They’ve founded non-profits, become such consistent volunteers they’re practically staffing their local non-profits, and raised awareness about critical causes in their own backyards.

They’ve done everything from forming youth mentorship clubs, to creating rolling book cart libraries, supporting food banks, engineering energy-efficient school buses, and working with orphaned children.

While their work varies, they’re all superstars in their communities – and they all know schools in their area that could use some help. RIF is proud to be able to help honor these incredible teens with the donation in their name of RIF’s Multicultural Book Collection – developed with the support of our partners at Macy’s and featuring Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math (or STEAM) themes. Honorees chose need-based schools to receive the 40-book collection.

Like the school in Pensacola, Fla., chosen by honoree Mary-Grace Reeves, a Harvard student who’s working to become a pediatric ophthalmologist. Vision and literacy go hand in hand and Mary-Grace is proof. While she dreams of advancing retinal surgery for children, she’s already founded a youth historical literacy and community service program in the Gulf Coast.

After becoming familiar with RIF through her book donation to Oakcrest Elementary, she’s also hooked on ensuring every child in need has access to the books and resources they need to succeed in school and life.

Thank you, Nestlé, for your strong support of RIF for nearly 20 years, helping hundreds of thousands of low-income children to share the joy of reading!

On Facebook? Be sure to ‘like’ Share the Joy of Reading and Reading Is Fundamental for stories like this and more. 

RIF recently launched an art competition, with the support of Nestlé, called FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH BOOKS, which encouraged students to express how books have fueled their passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics – or STEAM subjects.

Kids from grades K through 5 at RIF programs across the U.S. sent us their artwork, hundreds of entries were submitted.

Check out our Flickr gallery to see the great submissions from our four honorees.

• 250,000 books to children nationwide to take home just before the holidays — united with First Book and others
• 6,500 books to children in D.C. Public Schools just before the holiday break — united with Junior League of Washington
• 1,500 books to children affected by Hurricane Sandy in Queens and Staten Island — united with YMCA of Greater New York and others

Earlier this year, we launched Book People Unite, a campaign to rally support for children’s literacy. Thousands of people have taken the Book People pledge, declaring their belief in the transformative power of books. Your support has helped us:

• Raise $4.8 million during our annual Be Book Smart campaign in Macy’s stores nationwide
• Secure $4.18 million in federal funding to provide books to kids in the summer – a critical time to support their long-term academic achievement
• Honor our troops with literacy celebrations and book giveaways for their families
• Provide literacy training for educator and caregivers in rural and urban communities
• Inspire the next generation of innovators through the launch of our 2013 Multicultural Book Collection centered on Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math (or STEAM) subjects

With poverty affecting 16 million children today – and two-thirds of children in these homes lacking even a single book to call their own – our work has been more impactful than ever.

Thank you, Book People, for your steadfast support.

There’s so much more to do. We look forward to continuing the journey together. Book People Unite!

I was the kid doodling during algebra. I somehow made it through school without ever once taking calculus. Today, my smartphone helps me figure out a percentage and my GPS watch helps me calculate splits on a long run.

At the same time, I’ve read the stories about the importance of encouraging a love of math among our kids (just take a look at the skyrocketing of careers in the STEM fields alone).

So if you’re anything like me you might be wondering: how the heck am I going to foster a passion among my kids if I avoid math at every turn? Enter children’s books and RIF.

This fall, we’re unveiling our new Multicultural Book Collection featuring 40 STEAM-themed books. STEAM is simply STEM — science, technology, engineering, math — plus an “A” for the arts, which coincidentally was the subject I managed with ease.

The collection is chock-full of books that can help even the biggest math-a-phobe out there  conquer their fears — and actually enjoy puzzling out a word problem.

Case in point: How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? This lovable story by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by G. Brian Karas will have most readers taking a trip to the pumpkin patch to experiment at home.

Plus for each book, RIF will be releasing associated activities for kids to help educators, parents and community volunteers extend the STEAM-related fun with their children. The guide for Pumpkin gives you a recipe for pumpkin pudding pie, ideas for creating seed art and more pumpkin math puzzles to solve.

Check out the collection for more information and to learn more about RIF’s focus on STEAM education.

As for me, I’m looking forward to doing some pumpkin activities at home. I think we’ll start with the pie.