How to find free books, audiobooks
Finding a good book without spending any money is simple, you just need to know where to look!
When Sallie Williams talks about Books for Collier Kids, it’s like listening to a story you don’t ever want to end.
The chair of the all-volunteer nonprofit has been with the organization for most of its 20-year history.
And oh, what a journey it’s been.
“We give new books — high quality and age-appropriate — to every child in all 37 (Collier County) elementary schools,” Williams said. “Every child in pre-K, kindergarten, first and second grade receives a new book to take home every month throughout the school year.”
That translated to 159,000 new books distributed to more than 11,000 students in 435 classrooms in 35 schools last year.
And a staggering 2 million books have been given to Collier County students since it all began in 2005.
Back then, before it became Books for Collier Kids, it was one of the first chapters of First Book Collier County, focusing on Title I schools.
And the need for it was and is great.
According to Books for Collier Kids’ website, “64% of Collier County School District’s 18,500 elementary students are economically needy.”
“Many of the children, even if they are ‘kind of ready’ for school, don’t have books at home,” Williams said. “And many homes are non-English speaking and (Collier schools) are English-only. So when a child starts school, they’re completely immersed in English.”
BCK only donates books for kids to take home.
“That way they can read with a family member,” Williams continued. “Teachers know ahead of time what the book is going to be. They can read the book to children every day of the week before the Friday they get it. When the children take it home, they can ‘read’ it to parents or siblings.”
Each book is carefully curated for age appropriateness, quality, and variety, so siblings a few years apart aren’t getting the same books. And it’s personalized too.
“Each comes with a book plate,” Williams said. “There’s a label inside so the teacher can write the child’s name in it — this book belongs to Peter or Mary, for example. This was, children have their own library. After four years, they have a nice home library of 40 or 50 books.”
BCK obtains books through The First Book Marketplace and the Book Bank in bulk, at heavily discounted prices. Instead of paying $10, $20, or more, they typically pay $1 to $2 per book, Williams said.
Donations and grants, like two recent ones totaling $10,000 from the United Church of Marco Island and Greater Marco Island Community Fund of Collier Community Foundation, go a long way.
For example, a $500 donation gets 250 books, enough to provide every child in a classroom with one book every month.
“We don’t do any events,” Williams said. “We have two mail appeals in the fall and spring. It’s very straightforward. People know what we’re doing is really going to have an impact.”
To help keep the story going, log on to booksforcollierkids.org.
Connect with Robyn George at [email protected]
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