Our Holiday Book Drive gives local kids the gift of reading!
Purchase a new book at This House of Books or Barnes and Noble in Billings, and we'll make sure it gets to an eager reader. We partner with local nonprofits to collect a wish list and distribute books to families in need. Just mention United Way of Yellowstone County's Holiday Book Drive while checking out, and our awesome partner stores will hold books until we collect them.
We have the most requests for infants, toddlers, and other pre-readers, so items like board books are always in high demand.
Why do books matter for kids, especially around the holidays?
- Getting a holiday gift can give kids a sense of stability and joy, especially when they're immersed in wider holiday marketing and themes but families may be struggling to purchase gifts.
- Free books help kids build home libraries, cultivating a sense of ownership and pride in their books that can nurture a love of reading.
- Kids who develop reading skills early in life tend to excel throughout their education and into their careers.
Last year, we helped about 700 kids get a book for the holidays. Thank you to This House of Books and Barnes and Noble for being great partners.
How we support literacy
The Holiday Book Drive is just one piece of our literacy programs. Overall, programs we support distributed about 60,000 books last year. We know that literacy is an essential tool for breaking the cycle of poverty and helping kids pursue careers that can help them build a better life. We also support:
- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that mails a free book to kids aged 0-5 every month
- Read out and Read, a program that partners with local clinics to give out books at well-child visits
- Bubbles and Books, which stocks little libraries at laundromats where kids can read and take books home