Now in its 26th year of brightening the holidays for families in need, the Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library’s annual Give a Kid a Book program is continuing in 2020.

Every holiday season, this program gathers books to donate to local agencies that support families facing difficult circumstances. Each year it is their goal for every child in need to receive a new book during the holiday season because books provide kids with priceless memories of adventures, historical figures, creativity, and knowledge.

This year, the Friends of the Library announced partnerships with two businesses: The Local Store & Volume One Gallery is a drop-off point for new books, and Royal Credit Union has renewed is partnership with the Friends of the Library in supporting literacy programs.

There are several ways to get involved with this program:

• Send a donation to the Friends of the Library by mail (400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire, WI 54701) or online at www.ecpubliclibrary.info/friends/programs/give-a-kid-a-book. (Friends of the Library volunteers will shop for books with monetary donations);
• Participate in Books-A-Million’s holiday book drive now through Dec. 13;
• Drop off donations of new, unwrapped books at The Local Store (205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire) through Friday, Dec. 18.

Suggestions for new books for Give a Kid a Book include board books for babies, easy picture books for ages 2 to 5, fiction and nonfiction books for ages 6 to 18, audiobooks for all ages up to 18, as well as books in Spanish and Hmong. For more information, please contact Stacy Yearous at (715) 831-5301 or stacyy@eauclaire.lib.wi.us. To learn more about other library programs and events, visit www.ecpubliclibrary.info.