Book drive exceeds goal

COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene School District's "Jingle Books" holiday book drive has exceeded its initial goal of being able to provide a children's book to every K-3 child in the district.

More than 5,000 books have been donated, which means the drive is close to letting each student choose two books prior to Christmas vacation.

According to organizers of the event, with the support of the community they believe a total of 10,000 books could be collected, which would bring the total to three books per child.

The book drive ends on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Schools in the district and participating local businesses have donation stations for those wishing to donate books. Gently used children's books are the primary focus of the drive, but new books will be accepted as well.

The Coeur d'Alene School District is the fiscal sponsor of the program. Financial donations can be sent to: School District 271, c/o Jingle Books, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814.

The district office also has a collection box for anyone who would like to donate at that location. For more information, contact program coordinator Greta Gissel at (208)819-8345 or by email at [email protected].