BALTIMORE — Students at Abbottston Elementary School in North Baltimore received the gift of reading Tuesday.
The school held a free book fair, thanks to donations from the If You Give a Child a Book campaign, in partnership with the Scripps Howard Foundation.
Last fall, employees at WMAR and viewers donated $13,358 to the campaign, which equates to 2,671 books.
Each student at Abbottston picked four books to take home.
"Every kid deserves the opportunity to not only read books but have access to new literature, things that can help them expand their imagination and creativity," said Anthony Avery, Abbottston's community school coordinator through Elev8 Baltimore.
"These books the kids can read, re-read, share with younger siblings, share with their parents, read aloud with their parents and have no timeline on it. It’s incredibly valuable," said Cathy Miles, principal at Abbottston.
There will be another book drive at the school in the spring where students can take home more free books. The school will also receive $6,677.50 to use for upgrades to its library.
