Children’s literacy nonprofit SMART Reading and SELCO Community Credit Union are partnering to support SMART Reading programs by hosting their second annual community book drive.
The goal is to collect new and gently-used children’s books, which will be sorted, cleaned, and gifted to local children to ensure they have books to read over the summer. Donation boxes are available at all SELCO branch locations in Bend, Burns and Redmond from now until March 31, 2025.
“Literacy is a critical building block for future success, and we’re excited to rally our community to support local children through this book drive,” said Olivia Sorensen, Community Development Supervisor at SELCO. “Every donated book has the potential to spark a child’s imagination and open doors to new opportunities. We’re thrilled to once again partner with SMART Reading to make that happen.”
During last year’s book drive, community members donated over 400 books, and both SELCO and SMART are hoping to exceed that number this year. This effort is part of SMART Reading’s work to expand book access for kids in Central Oregon through new programs following a merger with Portland-based nonprofit, the Children’s Book Bank. The organization also continues to operate 22 school-based programs in Central Oregon, where volunteers read weekly with students to build literacy skills, and students select two books a month to keep.
“Access to books is so critical for kids as they’re developing their reading skills,” says SMART Reading Area Director, Jennifer Zardinejad. “Book drives like this one are a wonderful opportunity to pass on books your own children have outgrown and know that they will become a treasured part of another family’s bookshelf.”
Research shows that having 25 books in the household produces on average an additional two years of total educational achievement. Already this school year, SMART Reading has given away more than 8,600 books to local children. Book drives like this one will allow the organization to expand its impact to additional students.
More information about the book drives, including a list of of parameters for book donations, is available at https://smartreading.org/event/selcobookdrives/
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
This article appears in Central Oregon Pets Spring 2025.
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