THE CHILDREN'S BOOK BANK

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland State student athletes took part in the national Reading Across America Day created to help highlight the importance of developing a love of reading at an early age, by teaming with The Children's Book Bank and delivering over 2,400 books to children at the Mt. Hood Community College Head Start program. Following the delivery the athletes spent time with the students, reading and playing.

Over 150 bags of donated books, packed with 16 different stories were donated to each student.  Members of the women's soccer, track and field, football, and women's basketball teams sat down with a group of students to read several stories. Once the books were finished the Portland State student athletes had an opportunity to interact with the children playing outside or in their classrooms.

The Children's Book Bank, founded by a former Teach for America math teacher, strives to improve the literacy skills of low-income children by giving them books of their own before they reach kindergarten.  To do this, The Children's Book Bank collects, repairs, and packages used books. The books are then made available to families in need - free of charge. This new organization is administrated by Dani Swope and is located in Portland, Oregon. The book bank accepts book donations during open hours at its warehouse located at 1728 NE Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97232.

This event is one of a series of community outreach projects facilitated by the athletics department GPS program, which helps Viking student athletes to "Navigate from young athletes to mature adults.”  The school has also welcomed at risk school children to the Peter W. Stott Center to help them with their homework and play basketball in an effort to stress the importance of school work and physical fitness.