BOOK DRIVE WILL HELP KIDS ACROSS CITY
Donations can be left at libraries, schools
Read to Me! ABQ Network is looking to collect thousands of children’s books over the next month.
The Read to Me! ABQ Network has begun a monthlong drive in the Albuquerque area to collect thousands of new and gently used children’s books to be given to families, hospitals, special events and early childhood education centers.
“There is no better way to love your children than to hold them and read to them every day. They love to hear your voice, and their brains grow according to the number of pleasant words they hear,” Dave Orner, chairman of Read to Me!, said in a news release.
Book drive collection sites include all public library branches in the Albuquerque area and all Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union branches.
And Albuquerque high schools have begun a friendly competition to see which can collect the most books and have scheduled drop-offs throughout April.
In addition, if your group or business wants to organize a corresponding book drive or become a gathering site, or if you know parents who can use more books, email BookDrive66@gmail.com.
Financial donations to support the program also are being accepted and should be addressed to the APS Educational Foundation. Instructions for how to donate can be found at ReadtoMeAbqNetwork.org.
“Access to books make such a big difference for young people,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. “The books collected in this drive are provided to youth throughout the city — on buses, in schools, and in homeless shelters. Take a look and see what books you have to offer this important cause.”
This 20-year-old program has collected more than 500,000 books.
Current high school drop-off schedules include:
■ Eldorado: 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. each school day in April (OliviaTraub0203@gmail.com).
■ La Cueva: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each Thursday in April (Erica.4.Ho@gmail.com).
■Manzano: 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays in April (ShelbyMiller1313@gmail.com).
■ Volcano Vista: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 24 (KaylaHynes05@gmail.com).
Cibola: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each ■ Friday in April (LorieSmith15@gmail.com).