WEST HARTFORD, CONN. (November 19, 2018) - Children's Reading Partners, Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, the West Hartford Rotary Club and The Miale Team at Keller Williams are teaming up for the fifth annual Greater Hartford Holiday Book Drive, which provides new and gently used books to at-risk elementary school students across our region. The book drive will run from November 26 through December 21, with three drop-off locations in West Hartford, one in Manchester, and an online donation option.

 

“Teachers in the schools we serve say that many of their students don’t own a single book,” says Alana Butler, director of Children’s Reading Partners, a volunteer literacy initiative that serves at-risk public school students in Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, New Britain and West Hartford. “Having a book of your own to read and re-read helps children develop the literacy skills they need to succeed academically.”

 

All new book donations are presented to at-risk students and all used book donations are given to libraries at Children’s Reading Partners’ participating schools and partner organizations. Donated books should be appropriate for grades pre-K through 4. They may be hardcover or paperback, new or very lightly used. 

 

Financial contributions are also welcome at bit.ly/GHBookDrive2018; all proceeds are used to purchase new books for at-risk students.

 

“This is our fifth anniversary year,” says Bennett Forrest, a real estate agent with The Miale Team at Keller Williams Realty and an active Rotarian who leads the drive. “Last year, participants donated more than 3,000 new and used books and more than $1,100. We’d like to exceed those numbers in 2018,” he notes.

 

To learn more about the Greater Hartford Holiday Book Drive, click here.