A Children's Book Drive Collects Books for the Police and Fire Departments

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI—North Kingstown's Erin Waldon had an idea about putting a book in the hands of children dealing with a crisis.

She started Books to the Rescue, so the 43 officers in the North Kingstown Police Department would each have a book available to share with a youngster and help make the situation not so scary.

"I have teamed up with Captain St. Onge at the NKPD," she told the Patch, "and I'm trying to raise $2,000 to provide every officer in the department (there are 43) with children's books to have on hand for whenever there are kids involved on a call."

A store, Usborne Books & More, promised a 50 percent match, she said, and her goal was actually to raise a total of $3,000.

She believes the books can help a lot.

"The idea is that they can help distract the child, and also leave a positive impression on them in a scary situation, all while promoting literacy," she said. Waldron started a You Caring page, and the police and firefighters accepted some of the books last week.