During the past year, children from our community have been selecting free books from Read to Learn Books for Free bookshelves. These books have been provided by other kids in our community. Kids helping kids. Via book drives, special events and personal donations, Read to Learn Books for Free, a literacy initiative sponsored by Miami Book Fair and The Children’s Trust, has been diligently collecting books to insure that all kids in our community have free access to books, and to the joy and adventure of walking through windows and doors made possible by reading.

Read to Learn Books for Free would like to say thank you to the children of Temple Beth Am, Ponce de Leon Middle, Cushman, Southwest Miami High, Casa Dei Bambini Montessori, Palmetto Elementary, Gulliver Academy, Carver Middle, Palmer Trinity, Leewood K-8 Center, and Glades Middle School, who together have collected over 6,000 books during the 2015-16 school year. Special thanks to Limmud Miami who, during a one-day book drive, collected 285 children’s books; to the members of the Jack & Jill Club who collected 231 books; to Ponce de Leon Middle school student Braulio Gonzalez and Librarian Mercy Mont-Ros for collecting 1,717 books; and to Anjana Mishra, who along with her two children Shreeya and Shaunak of Palmer Trinity and Leewood K-8, have since 2014 collected 5000+ books. From the beginning of the 2015 school year to the present, Read to Learn Books for Free has distributed over 113,307 books to the children of our community.

Read to Learn Books for Free works on two community-based levels: young children are able to select books for free from 40 bookshelves found in a variety of locations around the county, such as juvenile court to community service offices, clinics, park and community centers. Because the books fly off the shelves, they are restocked weekly. To meet the demand of stocking 3,500 books per week, children’s books are always being collected. Visit www.MiamiBookFair.com to find a Read to Learn Books for Free donation bin closest to you.