I recently got the chance to take my first trip to the gateway to the West – St. Louis, Missouri – with the First Book National Book Bank. I had been on several Book Bank distributions before, but this trip was unique because I was able to see the results from a promotion on The Literacy Site first-hand as well as meet some of the great women from Pi Beta Phi in person.

In September 2007, First Book, Pi Beta Phi and The Literacy Site hosted a Back to School Click Challenge to provide even more books for children in need. Visitors to The Literacy Site rose to the challenge and generated an additional 20,000 brand new books, donated by First Book and Pi Beta Phi, to disadvantaged children in the St. Louis area.

From October 16th to 19th, First Book staff members and volunteers from Pi Beta Phi worked together to distribute the 20,000 beautiful books generated from The Literacy Site to programs serving children in need in the greater St. Louis area.

From organizing shipments to labeling and lifting boxes, Pi Phi members helped get thousands of new books out of the warehouse and into the hands of the kids who need them. The books, donated by DK Publishing, included titles about ballerinas, princesses, farmers, and firefighters, that will help spark the imaginations of thousands of children.

In addition to books from the click challenge, over the course of the week First Book distributed more than 300,000 new books across the country from the St. Louis-based warehouse space, donated by the U.S. Coast Guard, spreading the joy of reading to community groups serving children in need from Maine to Hawaii.

Thanks to your clicks and the support of Pi Phi and The Literacy Site, First Book is able to place new books into the hands of children who need them the most.