Bernie's Book Bank board adds new member

Bernie's Book Bank, the leading provider of new and gently-used books for at-risk children in Chicagoland, welcomes David Raye to its board of directors.

Adding to a group of 18 leaders in business, Raye brings a wealth of knowledge in early childhood education and literacy and entrepreneurial experience to Bernie's Book Bank. As the owner of The Goddard School in Third Lake, Raye started and leads an annual book drive for Bernie's Book Bank involving 18 Goddard Schools in Chicagoland.

The success of these book drives inspired other Goddard Schools throughout the country to host book drives that have collected hundreds of thousands of books nationwide.

After two decades as an executive in the corporate world, Raye's children inspired him to dedicate his life to delivering high-quality education for infants, toddlers, preschool and kindergarten children. The Goddard School has been rated No. 1 in early childhood education for 14 consecutive years by Entrepreneur Magazine and enjoys an excellent national reputation.

Raye's school opened in 2004 and quickly rose to be in the top 10 percent of more than 440 Goddard Schools within the United States in all business, program and health and safety categories. Raye earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and an MBA in Executive Management from St. John's University, New York. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Lake Forest.

This is an exciting time for Bernie's Book Bank as they settle into a new 35,000-square-foot facility that is more than seven times larger than its last location. Located at 917 North Shore Drive in Lake Bluff, the new headquarters features a large book processing center, flexible event and exhibit space and room for 125 volunteers per session.

To more than 130,000 at-risk Chicagoland children, Bernie's Book Bank currently delivers 12 age-appropriate, quality books each year from birth through sixth grade. The expanded facility is the first step in the organization's Next Chapter campaign, through which the nonprofit plans to bring its mission of bettering the lives of children through book ownership to other major cities in America.

"David joining our board is another great win for Bernie's Book Bank," said founder Brian Floriani. "David shares our belief that owning and reading books is the primary vehicle on the road to a better life."

Founded as a 501(c)(3) in September of 2009, Bernie's Book Bank collects, processes and distributes quality new and gently used children's books to significantly increase book ownership among at-risk infants, toddlers and school-age children throughout Chicagoland.

For more information about Bernie's Book Bank, visit www.berniesbookbank.org.

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