Niles Township Nearing Goal of 10,000 Donated Children's Books for Spring Drive

Officials with Niles Township Government report that their goal of collecting 10,000 books as part of the March 24-April 21 Children's Book Drive is nearing fruition.

Township offices at 5255 Main St. serve as a year-round collection point for new and gently used books, but area residents can find additional collection bins at:

*Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St.

*Morton Grove Public Library, 6140 N. Lincoln Ave.

*Niles Park District, a 6676 Howard St.

Donated books are being collected for Bernie's Book Bank, a Lake Bluff-based not-for-profit which distributes to significantly increase book ownership among at-risk infants, toddlers and school-age children. But while the organization serves more than 150,000 at risk children annually, collects and processes roughly 55,000 books every week, it reports always being in need for more.

"Statistics report more than 400,000 at risk children living throughout metropolitan Chicagoland," noted Niles Township Government Supervisor Marilyn Glaser. "Thankfully, local support thus far has been overwhelming and we thank all of our local partners that have made this book drive so successful."

Says Bernie's Book Bank Founder Brian Floriani: "So much of education should happen before entering school; it's about being reading ready. We need to do everything we can to get children ready, versus trying to do interventions with students who begin school unprepared."

For more information on Bernie's Book Bank, call (847) 780-READ or visit www.berniesbookbank.org.