Read all about it: Donate to Readiatrics Book Drive to allow young readers the opportunity to own books and make reading a habit
Many people would like to help children in challenging circumstances get access to age-appropriate books, but do not know where to begin. The Readiatrics Book Drive is a local opportunity to supply children in western South Dakota with books to take home. The drive is collecting new and gently used children’s books for youngsters experiencing problems in family, health or home circumstances through May 8.
Books donated and distributed through Readiatrics takes away the stress of returning the book to the library or school. Once the child receives a book, it is theirs to keep. On average, the drive collects and distributes about 5,000 books each year.
Our effort has collected and donated 190,000 books over 23 years. Every single book helps.
One year we got 20,000 books from an organization on the East Coast. The donation came in a semi-truck. I had to rent space for them until we could sort through them. It was OK, but we really can’t handle that huge of a donation!
The books collected by the Readiatrics Book Drive will be donated to families of children receiving services from one of the 16 locations of the South Dakota Department of Health in western South Dakota. The drive also supplies books for the non-profit sister programs in Rapid City. The drive’s intention is to build literacy in the home.
Coralee Alley, a school psychologist, recently said in an interview with KEVN-TV that reading is a habit that can be encouraged (as with the youngsters in the public domain image above, posted in wikimedia commons).
“Kids model behavior, right? They model their peers’ behavior; they model the adults.’ Kids who live in homes where books are laid out say they see people reading, and are like 60% more likely to be a good reader as they get older.”
2024 drop points for new and gently used children’s books include the Rapid City Public Library, Dahl Arts Center, Books A Million, Black Hills Federal Credit Union locations and all Rapid City Medical Centers.
The drive is a project of the non-profit umbrella organization, Backroom Productions. With the drive concluding in May, interested donors have two months to get their books to the donation points.
For more information on Readiatrics, contact me at ddrewlerdal.com or call 605-341-5940, or visit our website at www.readiatrics.org
Darla Drew Lerdal is a former three-term member of the Rapid City Common Council, the lead singer of DD & Fayrohs, who were 2011 inductees into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association Hall of Fame, the owner of Black Hills Talent and Booking, a 2018 rock hall inductee, and a longtime activist for the arts.
