Framed: Patch Gives Back with Bridge of Books

Patch is all about serving our local communities and uses its Give 5 program to encourage its editors and salespeople to get out in their towns and lend a hand to organizations on five days throughout the year.

Local editors Amy Byrnes and Noel Aliseo headed over to the Bridge of Books warehouse in Red Bank to help sort books for the upcoming Read Across America Day on March 2. The storage units are filled with boxes containing new and gently used books donated by individuals and booksellers from all over Monmouth County, waiting to be distributed to at-risk children.

The Bridge of Books mission is to gets books into the hands of children who need them the most, yet have the least access to books. BoB distributes books throughout the state to foster family agencies, homeless shelters, Head Start programs, underfunded schools and after-school programs, neighborhood centers, boys and girls clubs, and directly to children at food pantries.

Some of the books sorted came from Markham Place School in Little Silver where sixth grade science teacher Sylvia Wittenberg organized a book drive for BoB. Students  taped notes inside each book giving a short synopsis and encouraging the recipient to read the book.

Patch editors will join BoB again in March to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with students in the Keansburg school district. Volunteers will read aloud to students in preschool to fourth grade classrooms and distribute books for the children to take home and enjoy