Generous Pennsylvanians Applauded for Donating Books to Children in Need
December 29, 2020 — Judith’s Reading Room, a nonprofit literacy organization based in eastern Pa, delivered “food for the soul” of children in need across this country thanks to the generous patrons of Wyomissing’s Barnes & Noble located in Broadcasting Square. Judith’s Reading Room was selected as its 2020 Holiday Book Drive Charity.
During the coronavirus pandemic, which brought many families to the breaking point, book lovers responded to the B&N Holiday Book Drive and donated a total of 1,918 books with a cover price value of $19,434. “It is impossible to state how emotional it is for families and children, who have suffered greatly this year, to receive brand new books thanks to Barnes & Noble and its book-loving patrons,” said Cathy Leiber, President, Judith’s Reading Room. She continued, “we are grateful for the confidence Barnes & Noble has placed on our organization to get the perfect books to the perfect children.”
As the books were collected weekly, Judith’s Reading Room allocated the donated books to its proven, award-winning organizations serving children at Casa Guadalupe in Allentown, PA, to children in rural Texas, to Navajo Nation children in Chinle, Arizona, to children educated by an AME pastor in South Haven, Mississippi, and to children who get their books delivered by a camel named Bright in Kech Balochistan, Pakistan.
Judith’s Reading Room was founded in 2010. Its mission is to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy. To date, the organization has fulfilled that mission by establishing 101 libraries in 22 countries with over 130,000 books valued at over $1.4 million dollars. Its signature event is the annual Freedom Through Literacy Award competition which has awarded $38,500 in cash prizes to 35 champions of literacy.
Applications for the 2021 Freedom Through Literacy Award will be posted on the organization’s website at www.judithsreadingroom.org in late January 2021.
