Half a million dollars’ worth of new books will soon be in the hands of local children.
To promote literacy, the books are going out for free this week to teachers and community organizations.
The Literacy Builds Health campaign partners Gaston County Schools with the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services.
Kids looking for fresh reading material will reap the benefits.
“We know it’s hard to be a successful student if you’re not a successful reader. It makes them better students,” said Superintendent Jeff Booker.
The 46,000 books are a donation from the Washington, D.C., based nonprofit First Book.
It works with publishers to gather leftover copies of recently printed books. Local teachers and organizations register online to participate.
Then the teachers or organization representatives picked an afternoon this week to go to Hawks Nest Intermediate School in Gastonia to select up to 20 books for free, said project manager Brittain Kenney with the local health department.
“First Book’s goal is to get books in the hands of kids who might not have access to books at home,” she said. “It’s just to increase access to books for kids.”
