A nonprofit created by former Tall Tales Book Shop owner Marlene Zeiler has received quick and generous support from the community. Zeiler announced the creation of Children Read in September with a goal to collect books for children in need in Atlanta. New, used and even those in need of a little repair are welcome for children in pre-school and kindergarten.
Zeiler’s most pressing need was a warehouse space to store all the donated books. Thanks to the generosity of her ex-landlord at Toco Hills, a space behind Fidelity Bank on North Druid Hills Road was made available. Donations of books can now be dropped off there. Call (404) 237-2017 or email childrenread@earthlink.net to set up a drop-off time.
“We have a table set up to sort and repair books, but we need more tables and folding chairs,” Zeiler said.
Shelves are being built and students from Lovett School and local Eagle Scouts have already volunteered their time. Zeiler said churches, women’s groups and other organizations have donated books and book bags. Zeiler wants to give each child a bag filled with 15 books they can keep forever.
“We need people to spread the word about the call for donations of books and we’re planning to put out some boxes for donations,” she said. “We also want to create a logo, so anyone who can help with that should get in touch”