Bernie’s Book Bank, a GFF grantee, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The Lake Forest Leader covered its celebration in an article, Bernie’s Book Bank celebrates 10 years, looks toward the future.
Every year, thousands of kids across the Chicagoland area who do not have any books of their own receive 12 from Bernie’s Book Bank. They continue to get 12 books for 12 years to help them gain the important skills that come with reading and owning books.
These books have been finding their way into the hands of kids for 10 years as Bernie’s Book Bank has grown. On Saturday, July 13, volunteers and staff members gathered at the book bank’s offices in Lake Bluff to kick off the non-profit’s 10-year anniversary with a volunteer-a-thon.
“Basically, we do one thing and we do it really well,” said Elizabeth Blasko, marketing and communications specialist for Bernie’s Book Bank. “We get books into the hands of kids that need them … we’re helping them to build their at-home libraries that way.”
Bernie’s Book Bank sources new and gently-used books and distributes them to kids from birth to sixth grade, specifically focusing on kids who do not have access to books on their own.
In 2019, Bernie’s Book Bank distributed 15 million books and is on track to distribute 3.6 million books annually to 360,000 at-risk kids.