In the holiday spirit, we partnered with the Parkside Fire Department to provide several hundred free children's books at their annual Breakfast with Santa event. Every child in attendance was invited to choose multiple books to take home at no cost, and many could be seen reading at their tables throughout the morning. Giving kids the opportunity to select their own books helps build excitement around reading and supports the creation of home libraries families will benefit from long after the holidays.

We delivered over 400 children’s books to Chester Eastside, a local food pantry and after-school program. Each student in their after-school program received a home library of at least 10 books, and approximately 100 books were added to the shelves in their food pantry. Future deliveries are being planned to continue supporting this vital local resource. 

We delivered over 1,300 children's books to the Madison Regional Head Start Center, creating home libraries of at least 10 books for every student. Any additional books were made available to stock classrooms or support children with greater needs, ensuring that every child at the center has access to engaging stories and early literacy resources.

On this date, we had the honor of meeting with Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon. During our conversation, we discussed the early literacy crisis and the critical importance of the Head Start program and its continued funding. We are extremely grateful to Congresswoman Scanlon for her time, her dedication to local children, and her generous donation of the children’s book Sofia Valdez, Future Prez. The book has since found a home with a local Head Start student, Selena. 

We are grateful to BookSmiles for their generous support of Delco Books for a Brighter Start. Their contribution more than doubled our inventory at the time of their donation, allowing us to aim higher and reach more children in need.

Delco Books for a Brighter Start officially began its mission to provide children in low-income households with access to books and home libraries. Within just a couple of weeks, we had managed to collect over 1,000 books. From the very first book collected, the goal has been to close the literacy gap and inspire a lifelong love of reading.