BankNewport & OPIA Children’s Book Drive Continues Through June 29

According to Reading is Fundamental – the country’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit – two-thirds of low-income families in the United States do not own any books. And, in Rhode Island, by the time students reach the fourth grade, only 69 percent read at a proficient level.

To help change this trend, and encourage more children to read, BankNewport, OceanPoint Insurance Agency (OPIA) and the United Way of Rhode Island’s Women’s Leadership Council are partnering with Books Are Wings on a children’s book drive that will run June 17 through June 29 at all BankNewport branch and OPIA office locations. The goal is to collect over 1,000 new and gently used children’s books during the two-week long drive.

“It’s essential to instill a desire for reading in children when they’re young, long before they become adults,” stated BankNewport President & CEO, Sandra Pattie.  “Strong literacy skills will enable our youth to achieve academic success and future success as parents, employees and members of our community.   We invite our neighbors and friends to join the Bank’s effort this summer to collect over 1,000 books for local youth, our future.”

The drive will be supported by Books Are Wings, a Rhode Island organization dedicated to ensuring that all children have books in their homes.  All of the books collected will be distributed on August 17 as part of BankNewport’s sponsorship of the Back to School Celebration RI event to be held at the East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) Health Center located at Six John H. Chafee Boulevard in Newport.  The annual event, which provides children in-need with a backpack full of school supplies for the coming academic year, will help 1,000 local youth and 16,000 youth statewide.  Children will have an opportunity to select a book of their choice to begin building their at-home library.

For the community’s reference, recommended children’s reading lists may be found in all BankNewport and OPIA locations or by visiting www.BankNewport.com or www.OceanPointIns.com.  For more information on the book drive, please contact 401.845.8673.

BankNewport, founded in 1819 and currently holding $1.1 billion in assets, is an FDIC-insured savings bank and is a subsidiary of the Mutual Holding Company, OceanPoint Financial Partners, MHC.  Along with its financial partner, OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc., BankNewport is proud to serve the financial needs of customers from banking and insurance offices located throughout Rhode Island.

Headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island, OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc. provides a broad range of property casualty insurance products, in addition to a full array of financial services.  Along with BankNewport, OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc. is a subsidiary of the Mutual Holding Company, OceanPoint Financial Partners, MHC.  Tracing its roots back to 1863, OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc. is proud to serve the insurance needs of clients from two full service offices located in Middletown and Barrington, Rhode Island, forming one of the largest independent insurance agency operations in southeastern New England.