WAKE Up and Read kicks off their annual book drive to collect new and gently read books for babies and children up to 12 years old from January 29 – February 28, 2022. WAKE Up and Read is a community coalition committed to ensuring each and every child – regardless of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status – is reading on grade level by the end of third grade. The NC Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) serves as the state lead for the NC Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and will sponsor a drop-off location at 5101 Nautia Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606 from February 2nd through February 26th.
Book donations can include:
- new or gently-read books for babies & children up to age 12 (board, picture, nonfiction, or chapter books)
- books that reflect the diversity of our community
- books that children and families will be proud to own, curl up with, and read again and again.
In 2021 more than 20,000 children across Wake County received books to help build inclusive home libraries. Over 130,000 new and gently used books were distributed across 13 Wake County Public Schools and 17 childcare centers.
A list of public locations for book drop-offs can be found here.
Another way to support the drive is to purchase new books that are of high interest and representative of our diverse community directly from the WAKE Up and Read Wish List.
