2016 Greater Hartford Holiday Book Drive Celebrates Success

West Hartford, Conn. (January 9, 2017) – Thanks to the many generous donors who supported the 2016 Greater Hartford Holiday Book Drive, at-risk preschool and elementary school students across Greater Hartford will have brand new books to call their very own. This year’s drive collected more than 1,500 new and used books and nearly $1,000 in monetary donations.
    
New book donations will be given to students in Children's Reading Partners' literacy programs at the end of the school year. Used books will be donated to their school libraries, and financial contributions will be used to buy additional new books for students to read, keep, and love.

The annual Holiday Book Drive is a joint effort of Children's Reading Partners, Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford and the West Hartford Rotary Club. In 2016, the drive ran from November 28 through December 23. Four drop-off locations participated, including Keller Williams Realty, Congregation Beth Israel, Beth El Temple, and the Mandell JCC Early Childhood Center.

“We’re thrilled that so many local children will benefit from this year’s drive,” said Bennett Forrest of The Miale Team at Keller Williams Realty, who led the effort. “Reading at home reinforces the literacy skills that kids learn at school; it makes a huge difference in their academic development.”

Children’s Reading Partners is a volunteer literacy program that serves at-risk public school students in Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, New Britain, Manchester and West Hartford. The program is part of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. 

To learn more about Children’s Reading Partners, visit www.jewishhartford.org/childrens-reading-partners. Or contact Alana Butler, Director of Children’s Reading Partners, at READ@jewishhartford.org or 860.236.READ (7323).

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