Mission
Books Are Gems GEMS established in 2003 is a nonprofit bookstore with a 501c3 status devoted to fostering a love for reading among children and strengthening families through the power of literacy. Situated in El Paso Texas our impact extends across El Paso County Southern New Mexico and the Ft. Bliss communities. Our overarching vision centers on placing a book into the hands of every child effecting transformative change one book at a time. Our objective revolves around enhancing accessibility to books for all families thereby advancing literacy language proficiency and comprehension skills in both children and their caregivers. The context in which we operate is critical: El Pasos youth confront an illiteracy rate of around 18% and nearly a quarter of households lack access to Wi-Fi. Additionally the poverty rate for children in this region stands at 26% and the absence of public libraries in rural areas compounds the challenge.