Jingle Books seeks new space

COEUR d’ALENE — Jingle Books has kicked off its fourth year of collecting new and used books to combat illiteracy.

The book drive was developed to encourage elementary school children to read by placing the donated books into the hands of young readers, kindergarten through third grade, across Kootenai County.

Last year alone, all K-3 students in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Lakeland, and Plummer-Worley school districts selected six books to keep as their own. This year, private schools in Kootenai County are invited to participate as well.

“Having access to books is a crucial aspect of early development,” said Dave Eubanks, a Coeur d’Alene School District trustee who started the program. “We want to give all students in our area that opportunity.”

If students aren’t at a proficient reading level by third grade, they run a much higher risk of dropping out of school as they can fall behind and potentially never catch up, Eubanks said.

To date, Jingle Books has distributed over 85,000 books to local children with the help of the community.

“It’s starting to get so big that it presents a bit of a logistical challenge,” said Norm Gissel, Jingle Books coordinator. “We now have an urgent need for a short-term storage and staging area. It takes a lot of space to sort that many books.”

Jingle Books has a new goal in 2017 — 50,000 books.

The week before winter break, participating elementary schools will host a book fair where students can select their books. The number of books depends on the response from the community.

Donated books should be appropriate for children from age 5 to 8 and be new or gently used. Jingle Books drop-off locations include all elementary schools in the Coeur d’Alene School district, with more locations being added almost daily. Financial donations are also welcome.

“Every penny donated will only be used to purchase children’s books in bulk,” Eubanks said.

Financial donations may be mailed to Jingle Books c/o Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Donations can also be dropped off at that address.

Books can also be dropped off at all local Domino’s pizza locations and can be given to delivery drivers.

A full list of drop-off locations will be available on the Jingle Books Facebook page. For more information about Jingle Books or to volunteer, call Gissel at 208-964-4823.