PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – WPLG Local 10 News wants children in South Florida to experience the joy and benefit of reading. It's why Local 10 is launching the My Future, My Choice Big Book Drive.
My Future, My Choice is a multi-faceted, multi-year station initiative to address youth gun violence and help pave a path to solutions and success.
It began with a town hall meeting in April, along with editorials, public service announcements and weekly news stories.
The Big Book Drive is another component of the station's commitment to spread a positive message to South Florida youth. They can choose their future and achieve their goals.
Research shows that an alarming number of kids who fail to graduate high school were poor third-grade readers.
Low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement over the summer. In middle-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is 13 to one, while in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is one book for every 300 children.
However, there is good news.
Research also indicates the most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children is to increase their access to print.
From June 20 through Aug. 31, Local 10 is joining forces with Miami-Dade County and Broward County Public Libraries, Walgreens and other private businesses to collect new books for kids.
The following is a list of drop-off locations near you, along with a suggested list of age-appropriate books you can donate. Make sure you scroll all the way to see all the participating partners for the Local 10 My Future, My Choice Big Book Drive.
Broward County
YOU CAN DROP OFF YOUR NEW BOOK DONATION AT ANY BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY LOCATION. For your convenience, below is a list of some of the participating branches.
Stirling Road, Hollywood
3150 Stirling Road
954-357-7550
South Regional/Broward College, Pembroke Pines
7300 Pines Blvd.
954-201-8825
Pembroke Pines/Walter C. Young, Pembroke Pines
955 NW 129 Avenue
954-357-6750
Weston, Weston
4205 Bonaventure Blvd.
954-357-5420
West Regional, Plantation
8601 West Broward Blvd.
954-765-1560
Sunrise Dan Pearl, Sunrise
10500 West Oakland Park Blvd.
954-357-7440
Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale
3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd.
954-262-5477
Imperial Point, Fort Lauderdale
5985 North Federal Highway
954-357-6530
Northwest Regional Library, Coral Springs
3151 University Drive
954-357-7990
African American Research Library & Cultural Center, Fort Lauderdale
2650 Sistrunk Blvd.
954-357-6282
Miami-Dade County
Miami Springs, Central Miami-Dade
401 Westward Drive
305-805-3811
Main Library, Downtown
101 West Flagler Street
305-375-2665
Arcola Lakes, North Miami-Dade
8240 NW 7th Avenue
305-694-2707
California Club, North Miami- Dade
700 Ives Dairy Road
305-770-3161
Golden Glades, North Miami-Dade
100 NE 166 Street
305-787-1544
North Dade Regional, North Miami-Dade
2455 NW 183rd Street
305-625-6424
Coral Reef, South Miami-Dade
9211 Coral Reef Drive
305-233-8324
South Miami, South Miami-Dade
6000 Sunset Drive
305-667-6121
Kendale Lakes, Southwest Miami-Dade
15205 SW 88th Street
305-388-0326
Sunny Isles Beach, Southeast Miami-Dade
18070 Collins Avenue
305-682-0726
Barnes & Noble is also a Local 10 Big Book Drive partner. You can shop at any of the following South Florida locations for new children's books.
Broward County
Fort Lauderdale
2051 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305
954-561-8019
Plantation
591 S. University Dr., Plantation, FL 33324
954-723-0489
Miami-Dade County
South Miami
5701 Sunset Dr. Ste. 196, South Miami, FL 33143
305-662-4770
Coral Gables
152 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-446-4152
Kendall
12405 N. Kendall Drive, Miami, FL 33186
305-598-3865
The following Walgreens stores will serve as drop-off points for new children's books:
Broward County
1300 E. Hallandale Bch. Blvd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
501 E. Sheridan St.
Dania Beach, FL 33004
3015 S. University Dr.
Davie, FL 33328
1751 Bonaventure Blvd.
Weston, FL 33326
11750 W. Sample Rd.
Coral Springs, FL 33065
5480 N. University Dr.
Coral Springs, FL 33067
Miami-Dade County
9675 N.W. 41st St.
Doral, FL 33178
18665 Biscayne Blvd.
Aventura, FL 33180
3007 Aventura Blvd., Bay 4
Aventura, FL 33180
Suggested Book List:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Curious George
Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Fancy Nancy
Green Eggs and Ham
Jumanji
Madeline
Olivia
The Cat In The Hat
The Going To Bed Book
The Lorax
The Tale of Peter The Rabbit
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
On Friday, July 15, Local 10 News anchors Todd Tongen and Neki Mohan will hop aboard a yellow school bus to collect your donations. We want to fill that bus from floor to ceiling. Let's make it happen and make a difference this summer for kids who need it most.
For more information about the South Florida library system and ongoing, free reading activities for kids at a branch near you:
In Miami-Dade County, visit mdpls.org
In Broward County, visit Broward.org/library
