How to Support Books At Home:

1. Donate New or Gently-Used Books: The Literacy Council accepts donations of new and gently-used books for children and youth. Although we do not accept books for adults, we have a list available of organizations that accept them. We do not accept textbooks, comic books, magazines, used activity books, reference books, or books in bad condition. Since our organization is not able to pick-up donations of books, donations must be delivered to our storage site in downtown Hartford. For more information or to setup a delivery date and time, please contact the Literacy Council at (860) 522-7323.
2. Organize a Book Drive: The Literacy Council works with area literacy programs and schools to determine their need for books. Depending on the volume of donated books, we distribute new and gently used books to eligible literacy programs one or more times each year. We offer technical assistance to groups or individuals interested in conducting a book drive and have developed a guide to conducting book drives.
3. Sponsor Book Grants: As coordinator of the local branch of the national First Book program, the Literacy Council raises funds to sponsor book grants given to eligible schools or programs serving low-income children through our grant allocation process. The books are selected by instructors, used in classroom activities, and then sent home with the children to enjoy with their family and keep as their own. Donations of every size are combined with other donations to support our book grant allocations and provide books to spread the joy of reading in ways as varied as these:
   • $36 provides a new bedtime story each month to a young reader for a year
   • $90 places one new book on every desk in a classroom
   • $180 delivers the magic of reading to an after-school program
   • $360 fills eager preschoolers' backpacks with their first new books
   To ensure quality services, we provide technical assistance to programs and donors (10% of each contribution supports these activities).
4. Sponsor a Classroom: Businesses, organizations, and individuals can select the program, school, and/or grade level they wish to support from our list of eligible programs and schools in the region. Classroom sponsorships can be arranged at any time during the school year and will provide as many new books as the donation amount affords.\
   • The distribution target for the books is one book each month per child during the school year.
   • The actual number of books per child will depend on the distribution pattern and cost of the particular books selected by the teacher. (Books are ordered through First Book and range in price from $2.50 up.)
   • Photo opportunities can often be arranged and we encourage media coverage.
   Two standard sponsorship options are available, although we will work with donors interested in other options:
   $500 Classroom Sponsorship:
   Five deliveries of new books per year for each child in the sponsored classroom.
   $1,000 Classroom Sponsorship:
   Ten deliveries of new books per year for each child in the sponsored classroom.
5. Join our Books at Home Advisory Board: Contact the Literacy Council office to learn more about lending your time, talents, and treasure to this important effort.