BankRI rolls out children's book drive March 1

Posted 2/28/19

As school children across the U.S. prepare to kick-off National Reading Month on Friday by celebrating the birthday of the beloved Dr. Seuss, Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) is getting ready to continue its support of childhood literacy. On March 1, BankRI

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

BankRI rolls out children's book drive March 1

Posted

As school children across the U.S. prepare to kick-off National Reading Month on Friday by celebrating the birthday of the beloved Dr. Seuss, Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) is getting ready to continue its support of childhood literacy. On March 1, BankRI will welcome the return of its annual Book Drive at each of its 20 branches across the state.

Throughout the entire month of March, all BankRI locations will host a collection for new and gently used children’s books that will then be given to kids by Books Are Wings. This is the ninth year the Bank has partnered with the Pawtucket-based nonprofit, whose mission has put more than 500,000 free books in the hands of local children from some of the state’s neediest communities.

“Our book drive is an easy way for customers and members of the community to help kids fall in love with reading thanks to giving them books they can call their own,” said Patricia O’Donnell-Saracino, VP of Community Relations for BankRI. “I’m sure many of us have our own favorite book memory from when we were young, so having a chance to pass that on to a child who may not have age-appropriate books in their home makes for a very powerful gift.”

Since the inception of BankRI’s Book Drive in 2011, the effort has provided more than 17,500 books to Rhode Island children, including 3,252 in 2018 – a number the Bank hopes to exceed this year.

“While tests don’t represent the full picture of a child’s learning, the stark results of the latest state testing scores show that far too many Rhode Island children – two-thirds – are not meeting grade-level reading expectations,” said Jocelynn White, Director, Books Are Wings. “We are committed to changing this statistic and are grateful to partners like BankRI for bringing people together around the important work to foster a love of reading in every child.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here