Holiday Book Drive Seeks to Collect books for 2,000 Frederick County Children
The Curious Iguana and Barnes & Noble Booksellers are once again the Literacy Council’s partners in our 11th annual Holiday Book Drive!
Most of the year, the Literacy Council focuses on the needs of adult learners who come to us for help with reading and writing or with speaking English. During the holidays, however, we turn our attention to the children in our community. The gift of a beautiful new book could be just what they need to become readers.
Here’s how it works: Purchase a new children’s book (for pre-kindergarteners through middle-school-aged children) at the Curious Iguana in downtown Frederick (12 N. Market) or Barnes & Noble Booksellers at FSK Mall and tell them it’s for our holiday book drive. The shop will take care of getting it to us. Or you can simply purchase a new book elsewhere and drop it off at the Literacy Council’s office at 110 E. Patrick Street next to the library in downtown Frederick.
The drive will run through December 15, but donors can continue to participate through Barnes & Noble until January 1.
The donated books will be distributed by Blessings in a Backpack, which provides weekend backpacks of food to children who depend upon school meals as their primary source of nourishment during the week. The books will be sent home with the children in these backpacks before winter break. Blessings in a Backpack is unable to distribute books with a specific religious holiday theme, so they must ask that there be no Christmas-themed books.
Over the past years, the Holiday Book Drive has provided books for several local agencies including Head Start, the YMCA’s Early Learning Center, Toys for Tots, Advocates for Homeless Families, and Children of Incarcerated Parents. We are proud now to be partnering with Blessings in a Backpack, and we are grateful to the Curious Iguana and Barnes & Noble for once again supporting us in this holiday effort.
In May, the Literacy Council recognized Barnes & Noble and Curious Iguana with the Council’s Business & Industry Partner in Literacy award.