‘Raising a Reader’ summer children’s book drive begins May 9
Drive is a collaboration between the Monday Club, SLO Food Bank
– The Raising a Reader committee of the Monday Club will continue its “Raising a Reader” program to further childhood literacy and provide access to books for children. The outreach effort will help provide books to more children, not just those who participate in the RAR program through their schools. The committee is asking the community to clear out their bookshelves in an effort to collect children’s books.
The drive will collect new and “gently loved” children’s books (Infant – Grade 6) from the community and deliver them to the SLO Food Bank to be distributed via a program called “Breakfast Bags.” These are drawstring backpacks given to youth under 18, which are filled with three weeks’ worth of shelf-stable, easy-to-prepare breakfast items and other resource material, distributing 9,900 of these bags per year to 40 sites. The food bank staff will put the donated books into the breakfast bags, ultimately getting them into the hearts and homes of children without access to books in their homes, and helping to foster a life-long love of reading. The goal is to provide books to all 40 sites.
The drive will also donate books to the county-wide Raising a Reader program events in October, so that each child who participates in the RAR event at their school receives a book to keep, along with a personal invitation to the parents outlining all the benefits of reading to your child. This gift of a book could be the start of a home library for many children.
Labels will be added inside each donated book cover, and will include printed bilingual “Reading Tips” for families. This year’s drive will start May 9 at 1:30 p.m. at The Monday Club with a presentation of a donation to the Community Foundation for Raising a Reader. A $5,000 donation will fund starting a Raising A Reader program in a new classroom. The community is welcome to attend.
The first collection day will be May 9, from 2-5 p.m. Donations may be dropped off at the large red wagon at the side entrance of the club. Books should be new or gently used, non-religious, and for children, ages Infant through Grade 6, including books in Spanish and other languages.
Future Book Drop-off dates: 2nd and 4th Mondays in May, June, and July, 2-5 p.m. Note: drop-off time for May 23 is 12-3 p.m.
For more information about the Raising a Reader Program and Monday Club member volunteers,
visit https://www.themondayclubslo.org/RAR.
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