Reader to Reader, a global literacy organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts, is giving away tens of thousands of new children’s books to schools and outreach programs in the Springfield, Massachusetts-area.
The organization’s Spring Book Extravaganza is donating 22,000 books valued at over $300,000.
The annual event is in its eighth year, and hundreds of boxes of books line the walls at the Chicopee Public Schools Maintenance Department waiting for teachers to pick out what they need for their classrooms.
Chicopee Public Schools serves as the host site of the event each year, and teachers fill cars, vans and trucks with mountains of books.
The books are brand new and are available to schools in Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee and West Springfield. The books span a wide range of ages and interests and include grade levels pre-K to 12.
“It’s an exciting event,” David Mazor, Reader to Reader’s founder. “There were teachers, principals and administrators lined up at the door when we opened at 9:00am!”
David Mazor, Reader to Reader’s founder, adds that "these books are part of our ongoing support for the Reading Success by 4th Grade Initiative. Increased access to books is a key factor in raising literacy rates."
Reader to Reader’s book donations draw praise from teachers and school administrators.
“The books we picked out today are unbelievable!” Margaret Betts, librarian at Maple Elementary in Easthampton, said. “It is an amazing bookfair. Thank you so much for supporting our school in this way. We are lucky to have Reader to Reader partnering with us!"
The event is sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Foundation. Donating publishers include Scholastic Books Fairs, Pioneer Valley Press, and Home Grown Books.
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