Local 10's Big Book Drive rolls through South Florida again

Donate to book drive and help children experience joys of reading

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Local 10 wants all kids in South Florida to experience the joy and benefit of reading. It's why we're having our second annual "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.

Local 10 has held two town hall meetings, with the third scheduled for Friday, June 2, and aired editorials, public service announcements and news stories to address the topic. 

The Big Book Drive is another component of our commitment to spread a positive message to our 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-1, while in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is one book for every 300 children. 

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 April 10 through May 19, Local 10 is joining forces with Miami-Dade County and Broward County Public Libraries, along with Vera Cadillac, Buick and GMC, 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 library branches for the Local 10 "My Future, My Choice" Big Book Drive.

Broward County

*YOU CAN DROP OFF YOUR NEW BOOK DONATION AT ANY OF THE 37 BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY LOCATIONS.  For your convenience, below is a list of some of the participating branches. 

1.      Stirling Road – Hollywood

3150 Stirling Road

954-357-7550  

2.      South Regional/Broward College – Pembroke Pines

7300 Pines Blvd.

954-201-8825

3.      Pembroke Pines/Walter C. Young – Pembroke Pines

955 NW 129 Avenue

954-357-6750

4.      Weston - Weston

4205 Bonaventure Blvd.

954-357-5420

5.      West Regional – Plantation

8601 West Broward Blvd.  

954-765-1560

6.      Sunrise Dan Pearl – Sunrise

10500 West Oakland Park Blvd.

954-357-7440

7.      Nova Southeastern University – Fort Lauderdale

3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd.

954-262-5477

8.      Imperial Point – Fort Lauderdale

5985 North Federal Highway

954-357-6530

9.      Northwest Regional Library –Coral Springs

3151 University Drive

954-357-7990

10.   African American Research Library & Cultural Center – Fort Lauderdale

2650 Sistrunk Blvd.

954-357-6282

 

Miami-Dade County

1.      Miami Springs – Central Miami-Dade

401 Westward Drive

                305-805-3811

2.      Main Library – Downtown

101 West Flagler Street

305-375-2665

3.      Little River  – Northeast Miami-Dade

160 NE 79th Street

305-751-8689

4.      Lemon City – Northeast Miami-Dade

430 NE 61 Street

305-757-0662

5.      California Club – North Miami- Dade

700 Ives Dairy Road

305-770-3161

6.      Golden Glades – North Miami-Dade

100 NE 166 Street

305-787-1544

7.      North Dade Regional – North Miami-Dade

2455 NW 183rd Street

305-625-6424

8.      Coral Reef – South Miami-Dade

9211 Coral Reef Drive

305-233-8324

9.      South Miami – South Miami-Dade

6000 Sunset Drive

305-667-6121

10.  Kendale Lakes – Southwest Miami-Dade

15205 SW 88th Street

305-388-0326

11.   Sunny Isles Beach –Southeast Miami-Dade

18070 Collins Avenue

305-682-0726

 

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

 

Local 10 News anchors Todd Tongen and Neki Mohan will hop aboard a yellow school bus on Friday, May 19, to collect your donations. The books will be sorted and distributed to schools and programs serving children before the summer break.

We want to fill that bus from floor to ceiling. Let's make it happen and let's make a difference 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


About the Author:

Mayte Padron Cordones is an Emmy-award winning journalist and the director of WPLG's Community Relations Department, overseeing the station's outreach initiatives to benefit and strengthen the South Florida community.