Remarkable Women 2025: Chandra Perkins and a bridge to a better future
by: Sheryl Proctor
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AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Chandra Perkins didn’t plan to move to Amarillo, but the city is sure glad she did. Chandra got her degree in Psychology, and through twists and turns ended up in education. Her educational world changed when her classroom started to get more and more refugee students. Amarillo has about 7,000 refugees, many of whom are from Myanmar and Somalia. She spoke about her students not even knowing when their birthday was, and how she would randomly throw surprise birthday parties for them just so they could experience the simplicity of such an event. On her last day of teaching, with tears in her eyes, Chandra remembers thinking she wasn’t done with education and helping the kids in the community she served. Storybridge was created as a way to build a bridge and bring people out of their comfort zone to interact with people from other parts of the city, and using books to make that happen. She took her two sons and friends and went to an area of town to read to kids, and then let them take a book home for free. Her research found that children who grow up in homes with 20 books achieve three years more education than those in book-less homes. “What we want is for kids to enter school, being competent, seeing themselves as readers, identifying their favorite books from the first day.” The name Chandra means bright, shining or glittery, and her mom Glenda says her name fits because “she will outshine the stars and she always has.” The program grew, Chandra collecting books in her garage and went from giving books out during the summer to visiting schools and hosting private book fairs for families in need. That grew to having more than 15 book drop-off locations for the community, which then grew to providing entire families with books for multiple children instead of just school-aged students. Finally, in 2021, through the work of individuals and families, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library made it to the Texas Panhandle, Storybridge became the largest affiliate in Texas in their first six months and continues to hold that honor. Imagination Library partners with local 501(c)3 organizations to cover overhead and admin expenses as well as coordinates monthly book orders. Now children ages 0 to 5 in Potter and Randall counties, and others around the region, can enroll in this program and receive an age-appropriate book each month. If that doesn’t sound like enough for Chandra, she and her team have also launched Little Free Libraries in high-need neighborhoods, so kids can walk and get a book or exchange one for another. She still holds true to the free book fairs and the book trailer which started it all. That program allows kids to choose five to 10 books for free. Not enough? Storybridge also has a KinderBridge program teaching parents and caregivers about how their child is learning and developing and provides time for kids to play with each other, as well as take home a free toy or book. Chandra Perkins’ story is now numbered among more than 100 women making the biggest difference in their communities as nominees for Nexstar’s Remarkable Woman 2025. More than 14% of Amarillo’s population is at or below the poverty line, more than the national average, and the community has a large refugee population as well. These groups are sometimes overlooked, under-represented, and lack the help they need. Chandra is a big part of helping the kids in our area achieve what should be simple and accessible: having books to read. As her nominator, Jeri said, “if she can change one child, if they can learn to read, and if that reading takes them someplace new and special, someplace that no one in their family’s gone before, then her dreams are coming true.” She never stops working to achieve that goal, and her work has driven her community members to highlight her as deserving to be recognized not only by the local community or our local Remarkable Women contest, but on a national stage as well. Other Links from Article: Storybridge marks accomplishments with community programs in 2024 Storybridge seeking book donations for 4th Annual ‘Dream & Donate’ event
(To see the active version of this map, i.e., where you can actually click on the circles to get additional details about that particular Remarkable Woman, go to the Nexstar website at https://www.myhighplains.com/hidden-history/womens-history/remarkable-women-2025-a-bridge-to-a-better-future/ ) For the latest Amarillo news and regional updates, check with MyHighPlains.com and tune in to KAMR Local 4 News at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m. and Fox 14 News at 9:00 p.m. CST.
The women who were nominated for the 2025 Remarkable Women competitionby: Angel Oliva Posted: Updated:
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — MyHighPlains.com and KAMR Local 4 News received numerous nominations for the 2025 Remarkable Woman competition. While there is only one winner, MyHighPlains.com wanted to recognize all 2025 nominees in the competition. KAMR Local 4 News and MyHighPlains.com will feature local Remarkable Women in the month of March before announcing the winner on April 1. Remarkable Women 2025 Nominees
125 women nationwide will be selected as nominees for the 2025 Remarkable Woman competition. The nominees will be selected for their selflessness, accomplishments, and community impacts. MyHighPlains.com and KAMR Local 4 News want to thank all those who submitted a nominee who made in an impact in their lives and the lives in their communities.
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