The Daily Solution: Helping kids one book at a time

A local nonprofit provides books for first responders to give to kids in crisis … More than 11,000 children have benefited from the program in its five years … Donors put up millions for UA hires.

In a city like Tucson, it seems like everybody is only a few degrees away from somebody else’s friend or relative, and with the right connections, small ideas can become big.

That’s certainly been the case for Southern Arizona Book Heroes, a local nonprofit that works to make traumatic experiences a little less scary for children by providing them comfort during times of crisis.

Southern Arizona Book Heroes arms first responders with books to give to kids they encounter during calls. By reading to or with the child, the emergency worker can help distract or soothe them from the situation at hand.

Founder Jennifer Turner-Jones heard about a similar program in another city years ago and wanted to provide the same service in Tucson. She took the idea to the lead homicide detective with the Tucson Police Department, who got her in touch with then-Chief Chris Magnus. He loved the idea and Turner-Jones began supplying TPD with duffle bags full of books.

Soon after, a sergeant with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department reached out to Turner-Jones, saying he’d heard about the program from a friend at TPD, and the idea quickly snowballed from there. Before long, she was sending duffle bags full of books all over Arizona.

Five years later, Southern Arizona Book Heroes is partnering with 28 organizations across the state, including police and sheriff departments and agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and a children’s advocacy center in Phoenix.

“There’s a lot more behind this than just books,” Turner-Jones said. “It’s about giving a child hope, giving them strength.​​ Helping them step away for a moment to know that they’re okay. And for children like me, it might be healing.”

Southern Arizona Book Heroes was born out of founder Turner-Jones’ own experience when she was removed from her home and placed in an emergency shelter as a child.

“I was taken away from my family with nothing but the clothes I was wearing that day,” Turner-Jones said. “There was a bookshelf (in the emergency shelter) and I would just sit in the corner and read. It was my safety mechanism, I would say.”

And with more than 40% of children in the state having experienced a potentially traumatic event and Arizona ranking fourth in the nation for children who have been a victim of or witnessed neighborhood violence, there are plenty of children in need of comfort.

When an organization signs on to work with Southern Arizona Book Heroes, it receives an initial delivery of 10 to 20 duffle bags full of books, depending on the agency’s size. Each bag contains between 30 and 50 books for children ranging from newborn to 6 years old and each agency decides for itself how to distribute the duffles amongst officers, deputies and others. When they start to run low on books for a particular age group, the organization contacts Turner-Jones, who will send more along.

The selection of books in each bag are “as neutral as possible,” with nothing political, family-related, religious or holiday-themed. The nonprofit has an Amazon wish list and has a list of authors across the country who are regular donors. Barnes and Noble also makes donations, and the organization partners with First Book to purchase books at a discounted rate.

But not every kid loves books or has grown up with books in their home, so Turner-Jones has been adding other items to bags in recent months, including journals, coloring books, fleece blankets and stuffed animals.

She’s also started adding communication cards for children who are nonverbal, speak another language or who are just shut down.

“They can point to pictures and help break the barrier,” Turner-Jones said.

During winter months, she adds “bundles of warmth” to the bags, which include gloves, a hat, socks and an emergency blanket.

“If (first responders) see someone at a bus stop freezing at night, they can give them this bundle and try to warm them up a little bit,” she said.

In recent months, the nonprofit has started to use its platform to try to raise awareness of issues like childhood abuse and neglect and other adverse childhood experiences, also called ACEs, that can have an impact on a person’s lifelong health and opportunity. 

Turner-Jones has received inquiries from the Show Low Police Department and plans to continue to grow Southern Arizona Book Heroes’ reach across the state. Locally, her priority has become finding a commercial space to store books and other donations the group receives.

“The nonprofit has taken over my house and the trophy shop,” Turner-Jones said. “If you open up my front door, there’s just a straight path to the kitchen. Everything else is books.”

Southern Arizona Book Heroes has events lined up through the fall to celebrate its fifth year, but the news about what they’re doing is getting out and attracting some big donors. Earlier this month, Southern Arizona Book Heroes was the recipient of the local group 100+ Guys who Give Tucson’s quarterly donation, winning the more than $9,000 in funds by a landslide vote.

Turner-Jones thinks that part of what makes their work appealing to donors and community members is that when a person supports Southern Arizona Book Heroes, their support goes further than just the nonprofit.

“When you support us, you’re not just supporting the community, you’re supporting first responders and children, and spreading the love of literacy and reading,” she said. “This light has come from a very dark place for me. Southern Arizona Book Heroes has definitely brought out my best.

Less money from Legislature: As the University of Arizona’s financial crisis continued to dominate local news this week, the presidents of Arizona’s three big universities met in Phoenix to talk shop, including the decline in the state’s investment in the universities, KGUN’s Josh Kristianto reports.

"When I got here, more than 60% of the university's budget at ASU came from state appropriation. Now only 8% does. And we're producing five times as many graduates as we were before,” said Dr. Michael Crow, the president of ASU.

Accounting wars: A UA faculty committee said that while administrators blame some academic units for overspending, those units had no control over the spending that caused the budget deficits, the Arizona Daily Star’s Ellie Wolfe reports. Academic units generated more and more revenue, but administrators discounted tuition and bulked up strategic spending. The administration said their math was suspect and they were just “adding a bunch of numbers together.”

Donors foot the bill: Donors are putting up big bucks for a new athletic director and basketball coach at the UA, the Star’s Bruce Pascoe reports. All told, donations come to $12.8 million, including $5 million over five years for a pay raise to coach Tommy Lloyd and $1.28 million over five years to supplement the salary of incoming Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois, along with retention bonuses and part or her buyout from the University of Missouri.

Saying hello: Reed-Francois made her debut with the Wildcat community on Tuesday, saying the UA felt like “home” to her, Cronkite News’ Anthony Remedios reports. She earned a law degree from the UA in 1997. While at the UA, her brother suffered a severe football injury and the UA treated her with compassion when she needed it most.

“The kindness that was shown to me during that time and now, during this challenging time, it is my privilege and my duty to give it back and help guide this athletic department forward,” she said.

A roof over their heads: The Pima County supervisors approved nearly $7 million for 835 units of affordable housing at their meeting Tuesday, KVOA’s Eric Fink reports. That was welcome news to a local family who just spent six weeks living in a shelter.

"Stability, the ability to always be together and never have to be in fear of being apart," the mother of the family said. "It means no more microwave chicken nuggets, it means actual home-cooked meals.”

New judges: President Joe Biden is going to nominate two women, one from Tucson, to be federal judges in Arizona, the Arizona Republic’s Ronald J. Hansen reports. If the Senate confirms their nominations, U.S. Magistrate Judge Angela Martinez in Tucson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Krissa Lanham would be the first federal judges appointed by Biden in Arizona.

118,918: The number of early ballots cast in Pima County for the 2020 presidential preference election. The election is coming up on March 19 and early voting is already underway.