Publix associates have collected and donated more than 14,000 books for Little Free Libraries they built throughout the Atlanta area.
The results of the Little Free Libraries campaign were unveiled Thursday, April 4, at Our House in Atlanta. Publix announced the 2019 philanthropy project at its recent Publix Retail Operation Conference.
Publix associates built 132 Little Free Libraries in the Atlanta metro area that will be maintained through the United Way.
“Encouraging others to read is important to us at Publix,” said Brenda Reid, manager of media and community relations for the Atlanta Division. “Reading can open new doors, stimulate the imagination and show our young people that the sky is the limit in what they can do and become.”
“As United Way of Greater Atlanta’s largest corporate campaign, Publix Supermarkets continues to show its investment in Greater Atlanta’s children, families and communities with the Little Free Library program,” said United Way of Greater Atlanta CEO and President Milton J. Little Jr. “A student who is reading at grade level by third grade is significantly more likely to succeed in later grades and graduate high school on time.”
United Way of Greater Atlanta will place Little Free Libraries with the following eight Metro Atlanta partners:
• Cowart Family YMCA, 3692 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta;
• Northeast YMCA, 3010 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta;
• Harvest Rain Academy, 8567 Bohannon Road, Fairburn;
• Frazier Center, 1815 S. Ponce De Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta;
• Easter Seals, 1485 Woodland Avenue, Atlanta;
• Our House, 173 Boulevard NE, Atlanta;
• Premier Academy; and
• United Way Gifts in Kind, 399 Macedonia Road SE, Atlanta.
According to the United Way, Little Free Libraries are boxes built by volunteers and installed in neighborhoods. They are filled with books, provided by Publix associates and volunteers. Members of the community can “borrow” a book from the library and return it when they are done. They are intended to encourage community literacy. More than 10,000 Little Free Libraries are installed throughout the world.