Holiday Book Drive

Friday, November 24, 2017 (All day) to Sunday, December 31, 2017 (All day)
Event address: 
Essex, Burlington, Rutland, & Chester, VT

This holiday season, Phoenix Books is partnering with Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) to collect books for children all over Vermont. The book drive will run from Thanksgiving through the end of the year, and customers will receive a 20% discount off books purchased for donation (some exclusions apply) and will have the chance to enter a drawing for a Phoenix Books gift certificate.

CLiF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture a love of reading and writing among low­-income, at­-risk, and rural children up to age 12 throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. Since 1998, CLiF has supported and inspired nearly 200,000 young readers and writers through literacy program grants and has given away almost $5 million in new, high­-quality children's books. CLiF brings authors, illustrators and storytellers, literacy programming and resources, including new books, to elementary schools, libraries, after school programs, shelters and affordable housing units, refugee programs, Head Start, nutrition programs, and many others.

CLiF's current and recent programs local to Phoenix Books locations include:

  • Year of the Book grant at Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes School in Burlington (pictured at right) for the 2017-2018 school year: This is CLiF's biggest grant program, in which every child receives 10 free books throughout the school year, in addition to new books for school and library.
  • Fletcher Free Library receives new books (including book bundles they will loan to local schools) and a presentation by local author/illustrator Jason Chin on 11/30/17 as part of a local Year of the Book school grant.
  • CLiF is sponsoring J.J. Flynn Elementary’s Senior Reading Buddies program with the retirement community next door (in Burlington’s New North end) for the second year.
  • Lund Adoption Center received storytelling and new books at their 20th Annual Adoption Picnic this fall, a parent discussion on reading together, and new books for Lund adoption offices and for children of adopted families to keep.
  • Champlain Valley Head Start Open House at Shelburne Museum: CLiF provided stories and new books for the Head Start programs this Fall, as well as two new books for each child.
  • Jericho Town Library received CLiF's Rural Libraries grant for the 2017-2018 school year, including four storytelling presentations, funds for special literacy initiatives and programs in the library, new books for the library and local elementary school and two new books for each child to choose at each presentation.
  • CLiF's Summer Readers programs serve Essex Parks & Recreation and Camp Koda Essex each year, as well as Rutland’s Little Lambs program
  • Rural Libraries sponsorship 2017-2018 at Roger Clark Memorial Library in Pittsfield/Killington Elementary school: They recently held a Veteran’s Day event with new books about veterans supported by the CLiF grant.
  • In the past year, CLiF has served the Ludlow Afterschool Program with stories and new books and a Rural Libraries sponsorship in Proctorsville, as well as a Year of the Book grant at Ludlow Elementary School a few years ago.