Ten years ago, in March 2016, a large purple bus filled with books and multimedia tools named the BK Story Voyager began its journey to improve literacy in the community. Its launch and initial support was due to winning Participatory Budgeting, in which the community votes on ideas and the winners receive funding from the NYC Council. Since then, it continues to visit area schools during the school year and summer.
The Guru Krupa Foundation became the BK Story Voyager’s major supporter in 2019. The first year they provided a $25K sponsorship, that became $50K in the second year, and they increased their support to $75K from 2022 on. This support has enabled read-alouds, hands-on activities, book giveaways, book clubs, and especially the in-person literacy thematic lessons that reinforce reading development through games, art projects, book readings, etc.
“Addressing educational needs of young children is an important priority of Guru Krupa Foundation. Projects such as the BKSV that provide books and supplementary programs that enable young minds to grow and flourish are very much in line with our priorities, and we are happy to provide ongoing support for it,” said Mukund Padmanabhan, president of Guru Krupa Foundation.
This May, which is deemed Mental Health Awareness Month, the BK Story Voyager and St. Nicks Alliance’s transformational coaches delivered fun and engaging activities for students to better understand and manage their emotions through social-emotional learning. The theme for this month was called: Be Kind to Your Mind.
J. C. Pankratz, the education specialist and manager of the BK Story Voyager, read “Cranky” by Phuc Tran and Pete Oswald to the children. This was followed by a discussion about normalizing crankiness and the actions that can be done to move through those feelings.
Students from grades three to five were guided to create a feelings wheel. Images were drawn that symbolized their associations with different emotions, and a wheel was created out of paper plates that the students could spin and be given the emotion that it landed on.
Sensory calm down bottles were also created. These are bottles full of a clear liquid and sparkles that help regulate breathing and reduce stress.
“A lot of the teachers and school faculty were impressed with the bus. Events like this really paint St. Nicks Alliance in a positive light within our building and we appreciate you both putting the time and energy into organizing this fun filled afternoon,” said Max Avery, director at P.S. 17.
A fifth-grade student from P.S. 380 shared why they enjoyed the Be Kind to Your Mind visit from the BK Story Voyager, “Because all the activities were so fun and we got to express ourselves though books that we love. And pick really good books we enjoy.”
“The BKSV gives students a space where they can reconnect with the joy of reading. They’re so excited to come on the bus and choose a book. We often have to remind students to close their books so they can walk off the bus and back into their school safely. When reading is something to look forward to, improving literacy skills feels less like a chore, and more like a key to expanding horizons and opportunities,” said Pankratz.
One who helped form the idea of the BK Story Voyager was Martha Suarez. She served as the youth committee chair on the board of St. Nicks Alliance. At the 2016 ribbon cutting held at P.S. 34, she said, “We all have opportunities to read, but our goal was to ignite a passion — something that would entice not just children but all members of our community to become lifelong learners.”
The Greenline 