Schools collecting books for at-risk students

Students at Cherokee Bend Elementary, Mountain Brook Elementary and Mountain Brook Junior High are holding book drives April 7-17 as a part of the Birmingham Reads Book Drive.

The mission of the Birmingham Reads project is to ensure all students have access to books in their homes because studies show that children who grow up in homes where books are plentiful go further in school than those who don’t. Children with low-education families can perform in school as well as children with high-education families if they have access to books at home. 

Books collected in the book drive will be distributed to at-risk students through Better Basics’ literacy programs. Community members are encouraged to participate in the book drive by dropping off book donations at any of the schools above, or bringing books to Brookwood Village on April 18. The Alabama’s 13 trailer will be parked on the street outside the Books-A-Million at Brookwood village to encourage the community to drive up and drop off books to help children.   

The Birmingham Reads project is in its fifth year and is a partnership between Better Basics and the Junior League of Birmingham. Alabama’s 13, Books-A-Million, Brookwood Village, Scholastic Education, and Two Men and A Truck are sponsors.  For more information about Birmingham Reads and the other events included in the community literacy celebration, visit www.betterbasics.org/birminghamreads.