Book Drive Kicks Off At North Island Credit Union's La Mesa Branch

LA MESA, CA — North Island Credit Union launched a book drive Tuesday for children in low-income households in San Diego County.

Books are being collected through Aug. 31 at all of the credit union's branch locations in the San Diego region, including the La Mesa branch. Donated books will be given to students attending Title 1 schools in the county.

Donated books should be new and appropriate for kindergarten through elementary school students. These are the San Diego area branch locations:

• Chula Vista: 884 Eastlake Parkway
• El Cajon: 301 N. Magnolia Ave.
• Imperial Beach: 1101 Palm Ave.
• La Mesa: 7968 El Cajon Blvd.
• San Diego: 2550 Fifth Ave.
• San Diego: 5898 Copley Drive
• San Diego: 9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
• San Diego: 9420 Mira Mesa Blvd.
• San Diego: 10549 Scripps Poway Parkway
• San Diego: Naval Air Base, Saufley Road, Building 318

"We hope everyone will join us in helping ensure every child can experience the joy of reading," North Island Credit Union CEO Steve O'Connell said in a statement. "Every book donation makes a difference, and together we can support reading outside the classroom for all our children."

North Island Credit Union is hosting the book drive in partnership with the Scripps Howard Fund and ABC 10News as part of its "If You Give a Child a Book ..." childhood literacy campaign. The campaign has distributed more than 1 million books since it launched in 2016.

The book drive has also expanded to "Story Time," a year-long partnership between North Island Credit Union and ABC 10News that promotes child literacy. With the help of the San Diego Council on Literacy, monthly "mini" book fairs will be held at Title 1 schools across San Diego, providing free books to students in underserved communities to encourage reading outside the classroom.