We’re Hosting a Big Help Book Drive – Will You? #NickCFK

Hold a Big Help Book Drive and provide books for kids.

I have always felt really lucky that I had two parents who made sure I fell in love with books and reading practically from birth.  Some of my earliest memories are of being read to, or of flipping through books on my own.  I had a pretty expansive library even as a toddler, and as I got older I was encouraged to pick out new books at book fairs and through those monthly fliers from Scholastic that were sent home from school.  I’m confident that the foundation in literacy that my parents built for me directly influenced my decision to make English one of my college majors.

What I didn’t know at the time was that wasn’t the case for every child.  61% of low-income families have no books for children in their homes, and more than 80% of the preschool and after-school programs serving at-risk children have no books at all.  If you remember from the Champions For Kids Bag It Forward project I participated in last month, the teacher who received my donations said they sent books home with the kids at night so they would have things to read.

There are books available at Walmart that are based on Nickelodeon TV shows, like these SpongeBob ones. A lot of them come in these six packs, which are a great savings!

When I heard that the project for September was going to be a Nickelodeon Big Help Book Drive I knew instantly that I wanted to participate.  It makes me extremely sad to think that there are kids who go home at night and can’t curl up with their parents and read a bedtime story because they don’t have any books from which to read.  Not only do you miss out on a great bonding activity, but kids who don’t read at home are at a disadvantage: students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores.

We’re going to be hosting a Big Help Book Drive over the next few days to collect books for kids in our community and what we’re able to compile will be donated to Sunrise Children’s Services.  They’re a local organization with roots that go all the way back to 1869 when three children were received into their orphan’s home.  When I spoke to them on the phone to see if they would be able to use the donations, they were thrilled.  They said some would go to their internal programs for kids while others would be donated to foster kids with whom they work.

To kick off our donation, Bubbles and I headed to Walmart to pick up a few books.  You can see our entire shopping trip in my Google+ album.  She would have happily selected one of each book if I would have let her!  She loves to read and be read to, and she loves it when I let her pick out a new book.  I really hope that it’s a love she’ll take with her throughout her life.

I would love to encourage you to hold a Big Help Book Drive of your own.  It doesn’t even have to be new books – gently-used books are fine, too!  Ask your friends on Facebook for books their kids have outgrown, put a flyer up at church, or even throw a party and ask for your guests to bring a book as their “admission”.  If you do host a book drive be sure to share your experience on the Champions For Kids website!

You can follow Champions For Kids and Nickelodeon on Twitter for updates, as well as the reports of fellow bloggers that are also participating.  Be sure to follow hashtag #NickCFK and read about all the wonderful things happening in communities around the country!

Will you be one of millions and help collect books for kids?  If you hold a book drive, I’d love to hear about it!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids. #NickCFK #CBias  All opinions, as always, are 100% that of myself and my family.