Last updated on May 9th, 2022 at 04:19 pm
The Smart & Final Charitable Foundation recently sponsored special book fairs to provide three free books for every student at two California schools.
The book fairs provided the collective 859 students at Heaton Elementary School in Fresno and Palm View Elementary School in Coachella with 2,535 free books for their home libraries.
![Smart & Final](https://shelbyreport.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Heaton-Elementary-Deputy-Superintendent-Melissa-Her-648x433.jpg)
“The Smart & Final Charitable Foundation was proud to partner with Scholastic to provide three free books to each of the students at Heaton and Palm View Elementary Schools during these special book fairs,” said Tinamarie Squieri, manager of the Smart & Final Charitable Foundation.
“Education is a core pillar of our foundation, and we’re excited to encourage a love of reading and provide a fantastic volunteer opportunity for our associates to further give back to the community.”
Misty Her, deputy superintendent of the Fresno Unified School District, shared her personal story, stating that “I did not own a book of my own until I was in fourth grade. I loved the book so much I would read to my siblings and parents everyday.”
The students were excited and thankful, with sentiments of “This is the best day ever,” and “Now I have my own books that I can read at home,” heard throughout the book fair events.
The Smart & Final Charitable Foundation plans to hold similar book fairs in the future.
For more information, visit smartandfinal.com.