“Our mission for SFTA’s annual book drive is simple: to collect and distribute quality children’s books to childcare programs and families in need across Wisconsin.”

What is SFTA?

Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) is Wisconsin’s statewide association of organizations and individuals committed to making every childhood a great one. With Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) and Family Resources Centers (FRCs) that help distinguish and accommodate their specific community’s needs, SFTA focuses on childcare and family support.

While the CCR&Rs work closely with childcare providers, helping to improve the care and education sytems, the FRCs focus on supporting families through various services, such as parent education and home visiting programs.

We spoke with Penny Chase, the Quality Improvement Manager of SFTA, about their Once Upon a Book Drive: “Our goals are to increase access to quality literacy materials and experiences for children in early care, support providers in building effective literacy environments, and to gain community support for superior early literacy opportunities”, Penny explained.

Time for New Titles

The members, agencies, and programs that SFTA support all utilize books on a regular basis, as literacy is essential in creating the foundation of a child’s learning development. Slowly but surely, on-site books were well-loved by young readers – so much so that many became worn, with missing pages.

With minimal funding to put towards new reading materials, SFTA decided to kick things into high gear – they created the Once Upon a Book Drive, designed to fulfill the local need for high-quality literacy materials aimed at children ages 0-12.

Donated Books and their Destinations

After the books are collected, each donation site counts and categorizes the books received. Many of the collection bins are located right where the books will remain, significantly helping to streamline the process.

Depending on collecting members’ needs, titles are swapped around within regions and coordinated between sites so that each can have ample books available for their primary readers. Sharing is caring!

The best part? As books stay within their donation regions, those who donate know they’re giving right back to their local community - there is even a sticker in each book where people can write a write message to next reader!

Although most of the books are donated to CCR&R’s or FRC’s, SFTA also provides drive donations to outside organizations and nonprofits, helping the local community gain access to quality books. They’ve also opened an online application to further widen the scope of their book-sharing mission!

“The local Boys and Girls Club is one organization that we granted a share of the donated books to,” Penny shared with us. “They are given board, picture, and chapter books to excite booklovers of all ages.”

Onwards and Upwards

In June 2014, SFTA surpassed their goal for the Once Upon a Book Drive by bringing in more than 1,000 book donations! As the word spread, more and more organizations wanted to participate, and the drive kept expanding. Now book bins are scattered across Wisconsin each summer - you can find them in libraries, grocery stores, local businesses, and beyond.

“This June of 2019 marked the 6^th year of our annual Once Upon a Book Drive!” Penny announced. “To date, this book drive has collected over 31,000 books for Wisconsin children in need.”

Why BBS?

While SFTA has had success gathering book donations from the public suitable for older children, donations of board or picture books for younger readers were limited.

Receiving the Smile Award from Bulk Bookstore allowed SFTA to purchase 200 brand new books for these young readers, so they can be supported with resources that match their developmental stage.

We aim to continue making a positive impact in the lives of Wisconsin youth, and children all over the United States and Canada, by providing high quality books in bulk at the best possible prices.