Better Together, an interfaith community service organization, partnered with the Tarrant Literacy Coalition (TLC) on Monday to collect books and donations.
Children's books and monetary contributions were both accepted. The donations will be used to fund a holiday event on Dec. 3, Jennifer Rollins, program development assistant at TLC, said.
At the event, TLC will host about 80 low-income adult students and their families, she said. TLC will distribute the donated books for free to the families in attendance.
TLC and Better Together hoped to collect at least 100 books for the holiday event at the book drive Monday, Holly Pettijohn, junior psychology major and recruitment chair for Better Together, said.
“The goal is that each family can walk away with at least one book,” Pettijohn said.
TLC also works with community groups to provide adults with an opportunity to take ESL and GED classes, Rollins said.
“The number one indicator of academic success for children is whether their mothers, specifically, finished high school,” she said.
The book drive and the holiday event are meant to encourage parents to read to their children, she said.
Barnes & Noble also contributed to the drive, agreeing to match all donations, Pettijohn said. They provided children's books for the book drive’s display table, which will be added to the overall donations.
Better Together is a new organization in its first semester on campus, Pettijohn said, and Monday's event was the group's first book drive. They plan to host other fundraisers throughout the semester to raise proceeds for TLC, she said.
Better Together members interact with the literacy center in different ways. For instance, members dress up as characters from the books they read to children at TLC, she said.
Better Together hopes to host another book drive during the spring semester, the Todd Boling, associate chaplain and faculty adviser for Better Together, said.
Students can donate or to sign up to volunteer for the holiday event by visiting TLC’s website.