PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP)—On Monday, another successful WJHG Chapter Chat Book Drive ended, with over 2,000 books donated to local children.
“As a librarian, we really encourage children to read and to get excited about reading. Literacy levels have been down throughout the country, so it’s exciting to get books into the hands of kids,” said Sarah Burris of the Northwest Regional Public Library System.
WJHG has partnered with the Bay County Public Library Foundation to get as many books into the hands of children as possible.
Literacy rates in the county are low, and book drives are one way folks are trying to get those numbers back in line.
The Free Library on Wheels, better known as FLOW, came to WJHG Monday morning to pick up books, which will eventually be handed out to children all over Bay County.
“It is a bookmobile if you will, and we travel around the community giving age-appropriate books away to children, trying to promote the love of reading and help improve literacy in Bay County,” said Laura Roesch of the Bay County Library Foundation.
“FLOW collects for children in our community and really promotes each child having their own personal library,” Burris said.
A large portion of the 2,000-book donation came from the Addie & Baylor Kirchgessner Foundation in memory of two children from Kentucky who lost their lives in 2020 in Panama City Beach.
“We do it through book fairs, we do it through book drives, and that’s why I’m here today, for the book drive, because we donated 1,000 books to this book drive,” said Addie & Baylor’s grandfather Mike Peak. “Addie was starting to read to us at night, which was really, really, cool. Baylor, he loved books, especially books with dinosaurs in them.”
Family members say that the kids’ lasting legacy is made through helping other children learn through the magic of books.
“We believe as a family that reading is the foundation for education. When you give these kids books, the light lights up in their eyes. It’s just really, really heartwarming,” Peak said.
To find out how you can donate books, time, or money to FLOW to help it reach its goals, visit here.
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