WEST HARTFORD – Children’s Reading Partners, Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford and the West Hartford Rotary Club have teamed up this holiday season to get new and gently used books into the hands of at-risk preschool and elementary school students in the Greater Hartford area. The Greater Hartford Holiday Book Drive will run thorugh through Dec. 19, with four drop-off locations in West Hartford as well as an online donation option.

“Educators in the schools we serve tell us that many of their students from lower-income neighborhoods don’t have any books at home,” says Alana Butler, director of Children’s Reading Partners, a volunteer literacy program serving at-risk public school students in Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, New Britain, Manchester and West Hartford. The program is part of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford.

The book drive seeks hardcover or paperback books in new or very good condition, for children in grades pre-K through three. The West Hartford drop-off locations include:

• Keller Williams Realty, 29 South Main Street, (860) 313-0700
• Congregation Beth Israel, 701 Farmington Avenue, (860) 233-8215
• Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Avenue, (860) 233-9696
• Mandell JCC Early Childhood Center, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, (860) 236-4571

For after-hours donations, contact Bennett Forrest at (860) 977-3176. To make an online donation to be used to purchase books, visit bit.ly/GHBookDrive2016. For more information, visit jewishhartford.or/childrens-reading-partners/greater-hartford-book-drive.