- United Way is hosting its 9th annual Children's Book Drive
- United Way and other partners are coming together to collect, clean, and distribute books throughout Treasure Valley
- Book donations are still being accepted, you can drop them off at the Boise Outlet Mall at 6806 S Eisenman Rd, Boise, ID 83716
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Volunteers are cleaning and packaging donated books, to prep them for delivery.
I’m your neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis and United Way is gathering thousands of book donations for children throughout the Valley
"Our emphasis is really on babies up to fourth grade and of course we want kids to continue to love reading," says Terri Garabedian.
Since Monday volunteers have been sorting through donated books, collected through United Ways 9th Annual Children’s Book Drive.
“We collect the books over there and then we segment them by age and stage and from there they hit the tables and we want to make sure we clean them and organize them well and from there on the other side of this wall they’ll ship out from there, says Shawn Reilly Director of Resource Development & Community Engagement, United Way.
United Way partnered with book-it-forward to distribute the books. Where Terri Garabedian is the co-founder.
She says, "Pre-K and K is the most popular age group and that's when kids are learning how to read.”
She and other volunteers are sorting out books by grade level. Once they're organized other volunteers clean the books, wipe down the covers, and check for markings inside.
From there, books are then packaged and delivered across the Treasure Valley, many going to kids in Canyon County.
“We’re giving books to Title One schools, to after-school programs, boys' and girls' juvenile detention, lots of pediatric health clinics, all places where kids can have access to books,” says Garabedian.
Shawn Reilly adds, “We’re doing whatever we can mobilizing our caring power in this community to get those books out thanks to Book It Forward they get to over 50 locations throughout the Treasure Valley.”
18 to 20 thousand books have been donated, but to reach their goal of 25,000 United Way needs more book donations, and if you have some books around your home, you could donate and drop them off at the Boise Outlet Mall.
