The Local 10 Big Book Drive is going five years strong. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines, it’s morphing into a Big Book Drive-Thru.
Since we launched the book drive in 2016, more than 125,000 books have been collected and distributed to children in South Florida.
Each year, a Local 10 news crew would visit a number of South Florida schools in May to distribute brand new books directly to students. But since COVID-19 forced school closures, this year’s distribution was moved to July and revamped to a drive-thru format.
Local 10 is working with public schools in the tri-county area for parents to pick up the books with their children at the schools. The books will be pre-packaged and placed inside vehicle trunks to ensure contactless delivery and the safety of everyone involved.
The Big Book Drive is part of Local 10′s “My Future, My Choice” initiative, which was created to address youth gun violence and help pave a path to solutions.
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-1, while in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is one book for every 300 children.
There is good news. Research indicates the most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children is to increase their access to print.
On July 28 and 29, Local 10 will be at the following schools distributing free, brand new books to children ages 4 to 12. Parents who wish to receive new books for their kids must visit the schools in their vehicles and have trunks open for volunteers to place the books inside. There will be no walk-up distributions. Books will be distributed until supplies last.
Tuesday, July 28, 10am-1pm
Charles Drew K-8
1775 NW 60 Street
Miami, FL 33142
Wednesday, July 29, 10am-1pm
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Montessori Academy
591 NW 31 Avenue
Lauderhill, FL 33311
