PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The Local 10 Big Book Drive has collected and distributed approximately 152,000 books to South Florida kids.
Now in its 8th year, the Big Book Drive is looking to gift an additional 5,000 brand new books over the summer.
This year’s event will take place in July and invite kids, ages 4 to 16, attending summer camps to a special event where they can choose their very own books.
Research shows that nearly 16% of children who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade do not graduate high school on time.
Since its inception, the Local 10 Big Book Drive has worked with Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward County schools to get new books into the hands of students, especially those in elementary schools.
Last year, at Stirling Elementary School in Hollywood, Local 10 anchor Eric Yutzy asked a student named Desiree why she liked to read.
“It makes people happy and it helps children,” she responded.
At Arcola Lake Elementary, one student said she enjoyed reading because it “expands her mind.”
The Local 10 Big Book Drive was created as part of the My Future, My Choice initiative to give kids access to their very own books. It has been identified that in low-income communities across the nation, there is often only a single book to be shared among as many as 830 children.
For all eight years, Vera Cadillac Buick GMC has sponsored the Local 10 Big Book Drive.
For more information, email community@local10.com.
