Children of Military Families Receive Needed Books as BCC Book Initiative

Children of military families were the recipients of new high-quality books during Burlington County College’s First Book Initiative to promote literacy in the community.

The college partnered with New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Rochelle Hendricks, the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and First Book, a national nonprofit dedicated to eliminating childhood illiteracy, to distribute the books to organizations serving children who are designated as low-income, disabled or military.

Students and staff who participated in the project handed books directly to the children at the Joint Base’s annual picnic on Aug. 6.

Of those involved in the initiative, the Joint Base was the largest single recipient of BCC’s First Books with 13,000. A total of 43,000 books have been distributed as part of the campaign.

“This initiative was rewarding on so many levels, but none compared with the thrill of watching a child light up when handed a new book to take home,” BCC Interim Vice President of Special Projects Dr. Beverly Richardson said. “The goal of this project is to get kids to read more and judging from the looks on the children’s faces, we are well on our way to success.”

“It is very gratifying to give back to military families who sacrifice so much to serve us,” BCC Interim President Dr. David Spang said. “We hope that the First Book Initiative encourages children, and their families, to read more in their journey toward educational success.”

The attached photo was provided by Burlington County College: Jeanette Carson, age 4, of Fort Dix, enjoys a new book courtesy of Burlington County College’s First Book Initiative at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s annual summer picnic. Photo by Maryanne Corsini.