Contact Us Search
Employment Board room
e-News magazines Staff room
   

Printable Version



Book It: Help Inner City Kids

 
By
MetroWest Jewish Reporter

 

Starting next month, you can help fill the shelves of an inner city school library or put a book into a child's hands, quite possibly the first book that child ever owned. 

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy (GBJCL) is launching "Book It," a 'mega' book drive designed to put 10,000 new books into city schools and children's homes.  This community-wide initiative—involving area synagogues, Jewish organizations, b'nai mitzvoth, religious schools, pre-schools, social action projects, day schools and Hillels—is a project with a purpose: The thousands of books collected will have the power to improve youngsters' reading skills, boost their academic success and stimulate a lifelong love of books and literature. 

"Book It," which kicks off on Purim, Sunday, March 4, will spotlight GBJCL's important contribution to the community: Each week the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) program sends 600 volunteer tutors into city schools to help at-risk readers learn to read.  In its first decade, the Coalition has sponsored more than 1,000 volunteers who have helped nearly 8,000 children in 40 public elementary schools across Greater Boston become stronger readers.

From Purim until Shavuot (May 24), Literacy Coalition organizers, working with Combined Jewish Philanthropies' Jewish Community Volunteer Program (JCVP), plan to collect 10,000 books for young readers.  A Literacy Festival on June 3 at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square will celebrate both the success of the book drive and GBJCL's first 10 years of helping youngsters learn to read.



An agency of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and a United Way beneficiary
© 2008 Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.