Troop 67358 has committed to two service projects each year since they started as Brownies. Each year the girls in the troop vote on a community service activity and this year they decided to do a book drive at their school for the Reach Out and Read program. In total they donated 678 books to over 300 health clinics across Colorado.
This drive was truly girl-led. They divided up tasks including making posters, and flyers, writing a blurb in the school newsletter, sorting and delivering the books, and thanking donors.
"My favorite part of the book drive was collecting all the books and then seeing where the books get to go!" - Jenna Tedesco
Troop 67358 has many avid readers! The girls really liked the idea that children across Colorado would get to take home a free book after their visit at a health clinic.
We are incredibly proud of all the community service projects our troop has done over the years. Knowing the books our girls collected will go out to children across Colorado was very rewarding and having the girls lead the project was inspiring to watch as they develop their leadership skills.
"I like reading and it feels good to give other kids the opportunity to read more books." - Avery Leonard
We hope our girls inspire other troops to do their own book drive! It's fun and easy to do and is a great way to give back to the community. Everyone can clean out books from their own collection too!
We hope other troops will consider donating to Reach Out and Read; they were so appreciative of our donations and wonderful to work with. It was great to support their mission and important work.
Book Drive with Reach Out and Read Colorado
An important factor in early learning and brain development is reading and bonding with a child. Reach Out and Read Colorado partners with healthcare providers across the state to encourage families with young children to read aloud together, building the groundwork for growth.
Partner healthcare clinics receive books, training, and support from Reach Out and Read Colorado. The providers across the state also have been trained to use books as an exam room diagnostic tool to discuss early literacy with parents and evaluate child development.
Girl Scouts of Colorado and Reach Out and Colorado are challenging Girl Scouts, troops, or service units to host book drives so we can get books into the hands of healthcare providers and then into the hands of families. So, clean out those bookshelves and donate to Reach Out and Read Colorado! The guidelines for a book drive are here. Gently used or new books appropriate for up to age 18 reading are accepted.
Reach Out and Read Colorado patches are available at the Girl Scout Shop.