Jingle Books has less than one month to meet its goal of 3,000 books, and coordinator Greta Gissel has reported the program still has a long way to go.

"We currently have approximately 650 books," she said. "We will need approximately 3,000. We have had $800 in donations, however, that will provide roughly 200 books."

The program is devoted to promoting reading proficiency by the end of third grade, an important milestone for young readers.

"Literacy is so vastly important for every aspect of life," Gissel said. "Getting books into the hands of as many of our K-3 kids as we can will be a giant boost for them."

Since the end of October, collection boxes have been in schools, libraries, chambers of commerce, district offices and businesses where people can place new or gently used books that will be delivered to Coeur d'Alene School District K-3 students just in time for winter breaks.

The Coeur d'Alene School District is the fiscal sponsor of the program. People can make financial donations to: School District 271, c/o Jingle Books, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814.

The district office also has a collection box for anyone who would like to donate at that location.

For information, call Gissel at 819-8345 or email [email protected].