Presbyterian Church of Western Springs Children’s Book Drive

Presbyterian Church of Western Springs is hosting a children’s book drive to benefit Bernie’s Book Bank from June 7, 2020 to August 23, 2020. New and gently used children’s books (birth-6th grade reading level) can be dropped off in the bins at the church: 5250 Wolf Road, Western Springs, IL 60558

According to Reading Literacy in the United States 61% of low-income families have no books at home for their children. Bernie’s Book Bank, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing book ownership, is working to combat this statistic by taking books from where they are no longer being used and flooding them into the homes of children who desperately need them.

As the leading provider of books to at-risk Chicagoland children Bernie’s Book Bank serves 360,000 children with 12 free books annually. In order to distribute 3.6 million books to children in 2019 they rely on support from organizations like the Presbyterian Church of Western Springs to collect books.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the generous support of our book drive partners,” Bernie’s Book Bank CEO Darrin Utynek shared. “Without the donations Bernie’s Book Bank receive from book drives we would not be able to provide high-quality bags of books for the at-risk Chicagoland children we serve.”

“We have heard from so many people in the community that they would like to get involved with helping others. This is a great way for families, and especially children, to have an impact in the community. At PCWS, it is our hope that we can be a place where love is put into action and we welcome our whole community to help with this project. Bring your books on by!” PCWS Pastor, The Rev. Erik P. Khoobyarian.

About Presbyterian Church of Western Springs

PCWS is a welcoming, intergenerational and mission-focused community seeking to reflect God’s inclusive love. We are a vibrant, joyful congregation of people of all ages. We have members from all over the Western Suburbs of Chicago and visitors are always welcome. During this unprecedented time, PCWS provides live streaming of the worship service on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. This is a great way to stay connected. If you’re new or just looking, this is an awesome way to explore what the worship service is like. For more information about the Presbyterian Church of Western Springs, please visit our website at www.presbyws.org.

About Bernie’s Book Bank

Founded as a 501(c)(3) in December of 2009, Bernie’s Book Bank sources, processes and distributes quality children’s books to significantly increase book ownership among at-risk children throughout Chicagoland. Bernie's Book Bank delivers 12 quality books per year to empower at-risk children, ages birth through sixth grade, to read their way to a better life. Since 2009, Bernie's Book Bank has distributed more than 16 MILLION books. This year alone Bernie's Book Bank will provide 3.6 MILLION books to 360,000 local at-risk children. For more information about Bernie’s Book Bank, visit www.berniesbookbank.org.