Goddard schools collecting books for children who have none

To help bridge the gap of literacy access for underprivileged children, the Goddard schools in the Chicago area are collecting children's books.

Continuing now through Feb. 28, Goddard schools are holding book drives, to which the public is invited to contribute new and gently used books that are appropriate for ages 0 to 12. Both fiction and nonfiction are welcome.

The books will be given to Bernie's Book Bank, a Chicago-area nonprofit founded in 2009 to source and redistribute books to children who have no ready access to them. By 2019, the bank had distributed 15 million books total, and last year, they were on target to add 5 million books to that total.

The Goddard schools are hoping that altogether they can collect 25,000 for Bernie's Books. Visit www.goddardschool.com/schools/il to find a school location near you.

Goddard schools are early childhood education providers for children up to age 6. Locally there are schools in Arlington Heights, Round Lake, Bloomingdale, Buffalo Grove, Carol Stream, Skokie, Naperville and more.