Contact:
Lindsey Rodarmer
(616) 698-3332
lindsey.rodarmer@zondervan.com
Employee-nominated, nonprofit organizations will receive a FREE library of books
Grand Rapids, MI, Sept. 17, 2008-Zonderkidz, the children’s division of Zondervan and the leading publisher of children’s Bibles and Bible storybooks, is donating more than a thousand books to non-profit organizations in celebration of its 10th birthday.
All Zondervan employees, more than 300 company-wide, were asked to nominate organizations that could benefit from FREE Zonderkidz children’s books and Bibles. The following non-profit organizations were selected from a list of nominations and will receive 100 Zonderkidz titles, valued at more than $850!
1. Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2. Bethany Christian Services, Grand Rapids, Michigan (national headquarters)
3. Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
4. Gilda’s Club, Grand Rapids, Michigan
5. Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan
6. Congress Elementary School, Grand Rapids, Michigan
7. YWCA Domestic Crisis Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan
8. The Benton Harbor Boys & Girls Club, Benton Harbor, Michigan
9. The United Methodist Community House, Grand Rapids, Michigan
10. The Interfaith Hospitality Network at Cornerstone Church, Caledonia, Michigan
“Zonderkidz is proud to celebrate a decade of creating bestselling and award-winning Bibles and books for children,” says Zonderkidz Senior Vice President and Publisher Annette Bourland. “By sharing books and Bibles with non-profit organizations that are in need of resources, we are furthering our mission to inspire young lives. These donations will help young readers establish a solid foundation for a strong faith that will last the rest of their lives.”
The children’s division of Zondervan was founded in 1998. Prior to 1998, Zondervan published just a small amount of children’s books and Bibles, such as the best-selling Adventure Bible. Once Zonderkidz was launched, the group was quickly established in The Association for Christian Retail (CBA) with The Beginner’s Bible and The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg (a Zondervan editor at the time). Zonderkidz has grown substantially and currently has more than 900 titles in print.
Zonderkidz is celebrating its 10th birthday with a year-long campaign that started with Zonderkidz staff members and will end with an online outreach to consumers.
Zonderkidz™ Timeline:
- 1934- Zondervan publishes its first-ever children’s book Deep Snow by C. Kuipers.
- 1998- Zondervan launches Zonderkidz™ and the New International Readers Version (NIrV) of the Kids’ Study Bible is unveiled.
- 2000- Zonderkidz begins to distribute The Chronicles of Narnia titles in the CBA market.
- 2001- Zonderkidz teams up with Vischer’s Big Ideas Productions to produce VeggieTales® book tie-ins. One million VeggieTales® books are sold in the first eight months of publication.
- 2001- Zonderkidz partners with Project Angel Tree to provide gifts for nearly 70,000 children of prison inmates from 2001 to 2002.
- 2002- Zonderkidz releases the first 2:52 books.
- 2003- The Edge Devotional Bible is published for “tweens” (ages 8-12).
- 2004- VeggieTales® characters Bob and Larry join Donald Duck, celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, and First Lady Laura Bush to promote reading and literacy in the nationwide campaign “Get Caught Reading.”
- 2004- Zonderkidz launches the Faithgirlz™ brand with author Nancy Rue. Faithgirlz™ books have sold more than ¾ of a million copies to date.
- 2005- Disney releases the motion picture The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Zonderkidz distributes movie tie-in products.
- 2006- Zonderkidz publishes the first BOZ™ books.
- 2007- Zonderkidz starts to publish faith-based I Can Read books.
- 2007- Zonderkidz signs a contract to publish 12 faith-based Berenstain Bears titles, authored by Mike Berenstain. The first four titles will release in Fall 2008.
- 2008- Zonderkidz launches its Young Adult (YA) fiction category with titles by three of the top five selling Christian YA authors: Melody Carlson, Bryan Davis and Bill Myers.
- 2008- Zonderkidz celebrates 10 years of publishing bestselling, award-winning children’s books and Bibles.
For more information about Zonderkidz and to see a full list of available titles, please visit www.zonderkidz.com
Zondervan, a
HarperCollins company, is a world leader in Christian communications and the leading Christian publishing brand. For more than 75 years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian experiences through general and academic resources by influential leaders and emerging voices, and been honored with more Christian Book Awards than any other publisher. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in San Diego and Miami, Zondervan conducts events and publishes its bestselling
Bibles,
books,
audio,
video,
curriculum,
software, and
digital products through its
Zondervan,
eZondervan,
Zonderkidz,
Youth Specialties,
Editorial Vida, and
National Pastors Convention brands. Zondervan resources are sold worldwide through retail stores, online, and by
Zondervan ChurchSource, and are translated into nearly 200 languages in more than 60 countries. Visit Zondervan on the Internet at
www.zondervan.com (mobile site:
zvan.mobi).
Zonderkidz™, a division of
Zondervan, inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children's communications, it produces bestselling and award-winning
Bibles,
books,
board books,
graphic novels,
audio,
video, and
digital products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family members to educators. Zonderkidz is the publisher of the
NIrV (New International Reader's Version) Bible translation, the 3rd-grade reading level edition of the
NIV that is ideal for children and those who speak English as a second language. Visit Zonderkidz on the Internet at
www.zonderkidz.com.