The Need . . . is great.

Since literacy is one of the best predictors of a child’s future success, access to books in the home not only allows children to bond with loved ones, but helps address critical issues related to literacy.

Without a steady-stream of books, children are:

• At-risk for academic failure, delinquency, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, unemployment, low productivity and welfare dependence
• Return to fall classes with reading scores 30% lower than their peers
• Leave 5th grade nearly 3 grades behind in reading skills

In Collier County Public Schools:

• 57% of Collier County School District’s 18,500 elementary students are economically needs; they District has designated 58% of the students as “economically disadvantaged” across all schools.
•  More than 54% of Books for Collier Kids’ students live in homes where English is not the primary language or is not spoken at all. In grades pre-K through third, where learning to read is so critical, the percentage is even higher.
• 100% of children in pre-K, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classes in Title I elementary schools’ benefit from Books for Collier Kids