February is I Love to Read Month, and Ann and Clara Radke are doing their part by delivering books to children who don’t have access to them. The sisters created Bound to Be, a nonprofit with a goal of collecting 5,000 books and delivering them to food shelves and family crisis centers in Washington County. “We collect books from people who have books at home that they don’t use anymore, so that they can find their way to people who don’t have books,” says fifth-grader Ann Radke.
The sisters have the support of their father, Richard Radke, a reading specialist at Valley Crossing School and an Americorps literacy tutor. Radke points out the number of children who are considered illiterate, even in his own neighborhood, “There are kids within Washington County who are homeless,” he says. “What better way to help these families than with books available at no charge in places where these families frequent?”
Community members have donated gently-used books to Bound to Be. “My favorite part is just knowing that I’m helping kids in the future,” says fourth-grader Clara Radke.
If you are interested in donating gently-used books to Bound to Be, go to the website here.
