Give Me A Book Foundation
Give Me A Book Foundation for Filipino Leveled Books, Inc. (GMBF) is a non-stock and non-profit corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2023.
OUR STORY
Our work began in late 2021, during a time when elementary schools in the Philippines were still severely affected by the pandemic. Recognizing the plight of young students who were unable to attend school or access online classes, we aimed to make a lasting impact by bringing education directly to their homes. For the first time, hundreds of students and their parents read together at home. Every week, students and their parents would report back to their schools to get a new set of books to read at home.
When schools reopened, we realized that our Filipino Leveled Books were the missing resources in our public school classrooms. The pandemic revealed the sad reality of the state of our young students’ reading skills, confirmed by the 2018 and 2022 PISA results, which ranked the Philippines among the eight lowest in reading scores out of 80 countries.
We understood that our job had just begun and that the best way to continue and reach more students was to officially become a foundation. Give Me a Book Foundation for Filipino Leveled Books was founded in July 2023.
Our Founder
Maria Victoria (Chona) Colayco-Lagoutte received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of the Philippines and her Master’s in Elementary Education from the renowned Bank Street College of Education in New York. She owned and ran a preschool in Parañaque before moving to France. For over 25 years she was a primary school teacher and an instructional coach specializing in reading, writing, and math at the American School of Paris.
The education crisis in the Philippines, heightened during the pandemic, and the critical need for reading materials drove her to create a leveled books program in 2021, crafted specifically for Filipino first graders. This project has grown today into the Give Me A Book Foundation.
Click here to see Teacher Chona's Tiktok page, full of classroom tips and more tidbits about GMBF!
Our Board of Trustees
Maria Victoria Colayco-Lagoutte
Founder and President
Maria Dolores "Odi" F. Colayco
Odi brings over 30 years' experience as an attorney in the Philippines (Herrera law firm; Romulo law firm), and as in-house counsel in Europe and Asia: (Brussels: Associate General Counsel, Levi Strauss Europe and legal adviser to Patagonia. Singapore: Levi Strauss Asia-Pacific Regional General Counsel). Based in Brussels, Odi currently works as Legal Counsel Europe for Conservation International. She has supported the Foundation through her donations and her service as its unofficial in-house counsel. Odi strongly believes that education is the key to uplifting millions of Filipinos out of poverty.
Jean-Marc Lagoutte
Jean-Marc boasts over 35 years of experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, with prominent roles such as Chief Information Officer, Shared Services Officer, and Chief Organization/Governance Officer at leading corporations like Henkel and Danone. Since his retirement, he has dedicated his expertise to the Foundation as Development Officer. He has contributed to the Proof of Concept project, public relations, and GMBF’s overall governance. With nearly 40 years of engagement with the Philippines, Jean-Marc firmly believes in education is vital to addressing the nation’s complex challenges.
Michael Purugganan
Michael is a former Dean of Science at New York University and has over 30 years of experience in higher education. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines, and of the US National Academy of Sciences. He serves on the international advisory boards of the Philippine Genome Center and the Barcelona Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics. He credits his success as a scientist with his early love for learning, and remembers as a child having a hard time getting his hands on actual books. He believes that the Foundation will help in starting children on a lifelong journey of learning and love for reading.
Tiffany Colayco
Tiffany is an enthusiastic advocate for Give Me A Book Foundation. With a background in Marketing, she brings fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the board. She has been actively involved in the foundation’s social media and fundraising campaigns, where she has utilized her skills to grow awareness and influence like-minded advocates. Tiffany is driven by a passion for enriching the lives of children in meaningful ways. She is motivated to continuously draw support towards the foundation’s mission, believing in the importance of education.
Nicolas Lagoutte
While currently acting as a founder and CEO for an early-stage technology startup in the UK, Nicolas’ passion for the Philippines and improving children’s literacy enables him to tirelessly contribute to the Foundation. As our Chief Technical Officer, Nicolas is responsible for architecting and maintaining the Foundation’s key infrastructure including website, internal IT systems, and payments processing. His experience has been key in navigating the Foundation’s day-to-day issues and working closely with our legal counsel to maintain regulatory compliance with data and privacy regulations.
Manuel Busto Colayco
Manuel is a freelance mixing engineer and sound designer. Holding degrees in both Music Composition and Music Production, he has developed a profound understanding of the artistic and technical facets of sound. Manuel applies his expertise in short films and mixing for musicians. Outside of his profession, he is a dedicated advocate for educational equity and literacy. His experience attending a local university in the Philippines provided him with a profound understanding of the educational disparities faced by many. Observing the struggles in literacy firsthand inspired his commitment to addressing these challenges.
Our Champions
Give Me a Book Foundation is supported by numerous private donors who share in our advocacy.
Their generosity has allowed our Filipino Leveled Books to reach the students who need them most!
Our diverse portfolio of donors also includes strong institutional champions in education.
With their help, we are able to expand our reach every year and partner with more public schools.
Partner schools supported by this donation:
Lumanglipa Elementary School and
Calingatan Elementary School of
Mataasnakahoy, Batangas
​Partner schools supported by this donation:
Sto. Niño Elementary School,
Talaibon Elementary School, Tulay Elementary School,
Ibaan Central Elementary School, and
San Agustin Integrated School of Ibaan, Batangas
The project provides specially developed Filipino-language books tailored for
students in Grades 1 to 3. These leveled books are designed to build age-appropriate reading and comprehension skills. By distributing these materials to public elementary schools, the foundation addresses the urgent issue of learning poverty— particularly the lack of suitable reading resources for early-grade learners. It focuses on improving students' school performance through accessible, relatable content. Each book reflects the everyday lives and experiences of Filipino children, creating a sense of familiarity that makes reading more engaging and easier to understand.
The grant allows for a donation of 5,600 books (Levels A-G) benefitting 550+ Grades 1 to 3 learners in the first year of implementation.
GMBF commits to supporting and monitoring the following beneficiary schools for at least 5 years: Atate Elementary School | BLISS Elementary School | Kalikasan Elementary School | Manggahan Elementary School | San Lorenzo Heights Elementary School
Our Partners
Give Me A Book Foundation, Inc. extends its heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated education partners who support our programs and continually innovate to empower our learners through Filipino Leveled Books.
Our GMBF Volunteer Team
Trixie Bautista | Lara Bediones | Tiffany Colayco | Tricia Colayco
Raine Rivas | Alexa Taay | Yul Villanueva | Sophia Vivar