WACO, Texas — Heart of Texas Goodwill has brought back their free summer giveaways. Every Friday, kids from Pre-K through 12th grade will be able to pick out a book and take it home with them for free.
This is the second year for this giveaway, which is meant to help increase childhood literacy. Studies show that the pandemic has put children behind, and reading skills are at a 20-year low.
"We want to help kids get free books. We know that it helps improve their reading retention over the summer — it helps with their learning." said Christina Swanson with Goodwill.
"We know that reading retention is highly tied to future success whether people want to go to work, to college or even the military. Reading is such a fundamental skill."
They've already given out almost 8,000 books this summer, and hope to raise that number to 10,000 by the end of the month.
Students can pick up their books for free from any Heart of Texas Goodwill store on Fridays. There is no identification, registration or purchase necessary.
