Two decades of book drives bring good reading

Afew of us spent much of a day last week spreading good cheer around Greater Victoria, doing what we can to help the next generation learn to read. We were distributing money raised by last year’s Times Colonist book sale. All of the proceeds of the annual event go to education and literacy projects in our readership area.

This week, we are handing out $271,500, divided among 162 schools and organizations. That takes the cumulative total to $4.7 million, a phenomenal amount considering that, in 1998, our first sale raised just $20,800.

The stories we heard as we made the rounds encourage us to keep going, despite the back pain we (OK, by “we” I mean “our volunteers”) have suffered during two decades of lifting and moving boxes of donated books.

We started the book drive as a way to help struggling school libraries, and those libraries remain at the heart of what we do.

Money remains tight, a reality reflected in the enthusiasm (and the occasional hug) with which we (or at least our cheques) were greeted by librarians this week.

Some said the money raised by Times Colonist readers has effectively doubled their book budgets. That means they will be able to replace more damaged books, do more to keep their collections current, and equip schools with more of the tools they need to ensure students thrive.

The largest cheque this year went, as usual, to the Greater Victoria Public Library, which will use the money to ensure that the youngest people get a healthy start at learning to read.

Another major recipient is the Victoria Literacy Connection, the name under which the READ Society and Literacy Victoria have joined forces to help people of all ages improve their literacy skills.

The book drive works because of the strong support of the community, including a couple of hundred volunteers who sort books into categories and prepare them for sale.

Our fundraising gets a boost each year from the provincial government, which provides a grant based on the amount we take in. That grant is handled by Decoda Literacy Solutions, which is leading the literacy drive across the province on behalf of the government.

And, yes, the book drive, in its 20th year, will be back at the Victoria Curling Club on Quadra Street.

You can help by donating good-quality books at our drivethrough collection on Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, and then, after the volunteers do a rapid-fire sort, showing up for the sale itself on Saturday and Sunday, May 6 and 7.

All proceeds will go, once again, to education and literacy work in this area.

It’s a great cause. See you at the curling club.