The Children’s Book Bank

Founded in 2007, The Children’s Book Bank and Literacy Foundation (The Book Bank) provides free books and literary support to children living in low-income communities in Toronto. These books are donated by families, publishers and retailers. The charity reports that increased literacy rates are linked to poverty reduction. Additionally, it states that when children choose their own books and can take them home to keep, they are more likely to stay in school longer and have improved social, health and economic outcomes. The Book Bank’s Storefront operations are in Toronto.

The Book Banks’ main program is its Storefront Book Bank which operates in the Regent Park area. It is like a children’s bookstore with books and story time, except that the books are free for children to keep. The Book Bank seeks to give books to children who would otherwise not be able to own their own books. The Storefront hosted 575 field trips for schools, daycares and summer camps in F2017. It also hosts after-school activities, Saturday story times and school holiday programs. 14,375 students visited the Storefront in F2017.

The Book Bank offers literacy programs beyond its Storefront operations. It distributes books to help support programs at literacy centres across Toronto such as Rexdale, Eglinton-Humber, Crescent Town and Thorncliffe Park. In F2017, The Book Bank distributed more than 66,000 books to its community partners through this program.

The charity’s B3 Building Babies’ Brains program partners with 12 local health clinics in Toronto to provide practitioners and their clients with materials which outline developmentally appropriate literacy strategies. It also distributes books to these medical centers for children of various ages who are preparing to learn how to read. In F2017, The Book Bank reports to have distributed 3,000 books and literacy bags as part of its B3 Building Babies’ Brains program.