Freeport Nonprofit Packed Thousands Of Books For Families In Need

FREEPORT, NY — A Long Island nonprofit organization is focused on fostering literacy by distributing free reading materials to people in need.

The Book Fairies Book Bank hosted children's author Matthew Swanson, illustrator Robbi Behr and their four children and dog on Sunday.

The family is crisscrossing the country logging more than 25,000 miles on the national "Busload of Books Tour," giving away 25,000 of their own published books. They have a GoFundMe page for donations leading to more books with more than $143,000.

"Book Deserts are geographic areas where reading materials are difficult to obtain, and they exist closer than one might think and are the reason Book Fairies exists. We are so thrilled that Matthew and Robbi visited the Book Fairies’ Book Bank to help spread awareness about children’s literacy, putting books into the hands of students in under-resourced communities and empower reading, creativity, and collaboration in schools across the US," said Eileen Minogue, Executive Director, Book Fairies.

Dozens of volunteers helped by lifting, sorting, packing and labeling donated books on Sunday, creating over 160 boxes of books ready for distribution across Long Island and New York City.

Book Fairies recycles about 12 tons of books a year.