Donate books locally for Chicago area collection drive

Every child deserves to be well-educated and it all starts with the power of a book.

PODS of Chicago, a moving and storage company, is working with Great Lakes Credit Union and WLS Radio to collect donated books during a four-week “Stack the Books Drive” for Open Books, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides community programs and a bookstore to promote literacy for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The book drive runs Sept. 16 through Oct. 13 at various Great Lakes Credit Union locations.

During the Stack the Books Drive, PODS containers will serve as collection points for donors to drop off new or used books, with a goal to collect more than 1,000 books. Once the drive is complete, PODS will transport the donations to Open Books, helping save the charity thousands of dollars in moving and storage logistics costs.

The PODS container will make its way to the following Great Lakes Credit Union locations:

타 Monday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 22: 351 E. Illinois Route 173, Antioch.

타 Monday, Sept. 23 to Sunday, Sept. 29: 3209 N. Lewis Ave., Waukegan.

타 Monday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, October 6: 1519 N. Naper Blvd., Naperville.

타 Monday, Oct. 7 to Sunday, October 13: 18130 Pulaski Road, Country Hills Club.

“At PODS, we make it our priority to give back to the community and want to influence others to do the same,” Brett Schnitzius, Regional Director for PODS of Chicago, said. “The partnership with Great Lakes Credit Union will help us collect enough books to increase learning in students. We are proud to be providing our moving and storage services so that every young person can improve their reading skills.

According to Central Connecticut State University’s “America’s Most Literate Cities” study, Chicago ranks 31st for literacy. The U.S. Department of Education also reports that 79 percent of eighth-graders in Chicago Public Schools are not grade-level proficient in reading. Currently, Open Books helps more than 4,900 students achieve reading success.

“It is our goal to help students across the city be successful leaders in the future,” Stacy Ratner, founder of Open Books, said. “We thank PODS for donating the use of their PODS containers so that we can continue transforming young minds through reading and the power of books.”

For more information about the literacy book drive, visit the PODS of Chicago Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PODSChicago.