Our Family “Give a Kid a Book” Project
Our 2024 Give a Kid a Book Project was a huge Success!
A note from Marshall: “We’ve worked really hard and are so thankful for all the support you’ve given us. Our goal was challenging and we’re so excited about how we did!”
Thanks again to everyone who helped us get books in the hands of children around the Chippewa Valley. This year, the Give a Kid a Book program delivered over 3,600 books to children in need through 16 community organizations. We’re incredibly grateful to be making a small difference in a big way.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Two boys. One big idea. Lots of books [hopefully].
THE QUICK DETAILS:
Give a Kid a Book Program website
Only new books are accepted
Donations/books need to be received by Saturday, November 30th.
See below for EASY donation options.
Dear Family and Friends,
We’re doing the Give a Kid a Book Project again this year after a break of not doing it for the last couple of years. Will you help us make 2024 an even better year for our partners at Give a Kid a Book? We’re going to set a goal of 400 books this time around. In 2021 we fell short, but this year we are hopeful to reach and surpass it. NEW FOR 2024: if we make our goal, we’re excited to announce that everyone who donates will receive a custom bookmark designed by Miles and me!
This year I’m using this book drive as a 4-H youth leadership project so I am handling more of the details and planning. Thank you for your help with both of these projects.
Marshall (and Miles)
If you’re ready to donate, THANK YOU!
Continue reading below for all the ways to participate.
And please enjoy this short video highlighting the project:
Ways to Contribute
New children’s books in all age groups and genres are accepted through the program. There is a specific request for toddler (board) books, but all books are appreciated and will find a good home with kids in the Chippewa Valley.
OPTION ONE:
Buy a book and drop off in person
If you’ve got our address and live locally, we’ll have a box outside our house for drop-offs. Please leave your name with the donation so we can thank you. All levels of children’s literature are accepted as donations, but please drop off only new books (used books are not collected for this program).
Live locally and don’t have our address? Reach out via email and I’ll get back to you right away: smallcitybigdays@gmail.com.
OPTION TWO:
Buy a book online
We’re partnering with a locally-owned, independent bookstore, Dotters Books, to encourage shopping small this holiday season. If you find a book in their online store, add a note at checkout saying “Give a Kid a Book Program” and select “Local pickup” for the delivery option (it’s free!). We’ll take care of the actual pick up. Click here to shop the children’s literature selection, here for middle grade books, and here for young adult fiction. You can also buy a book in person at Dotters and they’ll store your donation for us!
If you would prefer to purchase from Amazon, here’s a Give a Kid a Book wishlist that we created—you’ll be able to ship directly to us if you use this list. We brainstormed some of our favorite books for this list, but feel free to select your own instead.
Have another favorite book-seller? We would happily accept books from anywhere. If you don’t have our address, contact us and I’ll get back to you right away.
OPTION THREE:
Donate towards books
Would you rather donate money and we’ll do the book shopping? We would love that! Even a dollar or two would be greatly appreciated.
Buy a gift card from Dotters Books ($5 minimum) for us to spend there. You’ll receive the gift card in your email inbox and then you can forward it to us via our email.
Donate via Venmo by clicking here. We’ll take the money donated (to my personal account) and shop for books with the final total. Please add your location to the donation so we can track where it’s coming from.
Mail a check to us directly (or stop by to drop it off) if you’ve got our home address. Please make the check out to me, not the library.
A note from the mom - All the extra details
First of all, THANK YOU for supporting the boys in this project. We talk about the importance of giving back and helping those in need a lot and I’m excited to have the boys see first-hand what a difference they can make. The boys love reading and decided they wanted to support the Give a Kid a Book program as a way to give back to our community during Covid and I’m thrilled to be doing the project again this year.
We’ll be posting updates to our blog along the way. Make sure to check back (at the bottom of this page) for all the project status updates. We’re hoping to map our donations again and will have other creative ways to share progress, too. When you donate, please include your name and address so we can use that information in some of our lessons.
More details on the Give a Kid a Book from their website:
Celebrating its 30th Anniversary! Over the last 30 years it is estimated that we have distributed 80,000 books. Annually, the Give a Kid a Book program donates more than 4,000 books to local agencies such as the Salvation Army, Bolton Refuge House, Community Table, St. Francis Food Pantry and Eau Claire Family Literacy that are then distributed to families in need. The goal is for every child to receive a new book during the holiday season.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can answer any questions: smallcitybigdays@gmail.com. We’re excited about this project and want to make sure that anyone who wants to participate can.
The video below is what Marshall and Miles created during our first year doing the project. I thought you might enjoy learning more about early literacy again and seeing them as little ones!
Our Book Donation blog
Enjoy the posts below as you stay updated on our progress. Thanks for joining us on this journey.
Blog Posts from 2021
Blog Posts from 2020
