Children who read well tend to succeed in school.

That fact has led United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region to spearhead an effort to collect 15,000 donated new or gently used children’s books — representing every child between kindergarten and third grade in the region.

“Through third grade, kids are learning to read. After that, they’re reading to learn,” said Jennifer Nottingham, Associate Director of Community Impact for UWBCKR. “Children that are unable to read by the end of third grade are four to six times more likely to drop out of high school. We’re determined to make sure every child has the resources to read well by that critical point.”

The United Way Children’s Book Drive connects to our impact goal in Education — improving high school graduation rates region-wide to 83 percent by 2030, and addressing economic and racial disparities that affect those rates.

Businesses, schools and nonprofits across the region are taking part in the drive, which runs Sept. 12-21. United Way seeks donations of new or gently used, age-appropriate books. Nottingham said educators are greeting the book drive with enthusiasm.

“We will be working with schools and organizations that serve children to distribute the books,” Nottingham explained. “Many of the books will help to build school and classroom libraries; some of the books will also be distributed to the children that they serve.”

“Reading is like any skill — you need to practice it to become good at it,” she added. “If you want to become a good piano player, you practice the piano. If you want to become a good swimmer, you’re going to practice swimming. And if you’re going to become a good reader, you need to practice reading. But it’s impossible to practice reading without books, which is why this book drive is so important. We hope to connect the children in our region with thousands of books, and thousands of opportunities to practice their reading so that they become proficient, skilled readers.”

Nottingham said a key part of getting kids excited about reading is making sure that they have access to diverse, interesting, newer titles that will excite them — something the book drive aims to achieve.

Join us!

DONATE BOOKS: New or gently used books can be dropped off at the following locations:

• UWBCKR offices at 34 W. Jackson St. in Battle Creek, and 709 S. Westnedge Ave. in Kalamazoo.
• All Kellogg Community Credit Union locations.
• Marshall Community Credit Union, 1157 E. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek.
• YMCA locations at 182 Capital Ave. NE in Battle Creek; 1001 W. Maple Ave. in Kalamazoo; and 6225 N. 39th St. at Sherman Lake, Augusta.

GIVE ONLINE: If you’re short on time, we’ve got options.

• A Book Drive wish list has been set up on Amazon. You can select one or more books from the list and have them sent directly to United Way. View the list HERE.
• If you’d like to simply donate funds and let us buy the books, text BOOKDRIVE4KIDS to 41444 to pledge money for books.

VOLUNTEER: There are several opportunities for hands-on volunteer work.

• On September 23 and 26 volunteers will help us count, sort and box those books to be distributed to schools and organizations across the region. To register for a volunteer slot, sign up HERE or email getinvolved@uwbckr.org.

Thank you to our sponsors

Sponsoring the book drive are UWBCKR, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Marshall Community Credit Union, Molina Healthcare, and YMCA of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. In-kind supporters include Green Bay Packaging Inc., and Two Men and a Truck.