QM values community and education. The QM Gives Back program began in 2011 in an effort to support education initiatives in cities that host QM Conferences. It offers opportunities to bring the power of the QM Community to organizations invested in educating under-served populations.
Annual Scholastic Book Fairs at the QM Connect Conference
The Scholastic Book Fair seeks to share the joy of reading with schools and learners. It is held to honor the contributions and memory of Anne Smedinghoff — a Johns Hopkins University alumna and U.S. State Department Diplomat from River Forest, Illinois — who died in 2013 while delivering textbooks to children in Afghanistan. The desire to honor Anne's passion for education and improving others' lives, along with Scholastic's commitment to giving the gift of reading to learners everywhere, has led to a wonderful partnership that provides books and book sale proceeds to a school in the conference host community.
Starting in 2011, QM began collecting donations in the form of supplies and funds dedicated to educational resources. Each year since 2014, QM has partnered with Scholastic Books to host a Book Fair with the bulk of the proceeds and all donated books going to a school in the area of city where the QM Annual Conference (QM Connect) is held. The generosity of QM Members and staff is reflected in the highlights below:
2024: Rosemont, Illinois
- 516 books/$7451 in sales benefitting Grant Elementary (17991)
2023: Bloomington, Minnesota
- 551 books/$6400 in sales benefitting Valley View Elementary School
2022: Tucson, Arizona
- 600 books/$7000 in sales benefitting Roberts-Naylor K-8 School
2019: Grapevine, Texas
- 425 books/$6763 in sales benefitting Harlean Beal Elementary
2018: St. Louis, Missouri
- 378 books/$4800 in sales benefitting Adams Elementary School
2017: Fort Worth, Texas
- 355 books/$4350 in sales benefiting Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary #135
- Donation of a monitor from SoftChalk
2016: Portland, Oregon
- 320 books/$3700 in sales benefiting William Walker Elementary School
2015: San Antonio, Texas
- 275 books/$6100 in sales benefiting Dorie Miller Elementary
2014: Baltimore, Maryland
- 250 books/$4000 in sales benefiting North Bend Elementary/Middle School
2013: Nashville, Tennessee
- $2500 in supplies raised for Pencil Foundation
2012: Tuscon, Arizona
- $1500 raised for Tucson Unified School District
2011: Baltimore, Maryland
- $1000 raised for a local area school
How You Can Help
Look for the Scholastic Book Fair booth at the QM Connect Conference.
Purchase books at the kiosk to donate to the school or for yourself.
Proceeds from book fair sales will benefit a local-area school of the conference host city and will be used to purchase books and other resources. Book sales provide credits for the school to purchase additional items from Scholastic.
Thank you for helping learners discover the joy and importance of reading.
