Weinberg Foundation Library Project Book Drive Results

13,000 Books Collected Valued at nearly $75,000

Next up: September 12, 2012 Grand Openings of the First Three New Libraries!

BALTIMORE, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, is excited to announce the results of its community-wide Book Drive to support the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project. The Library Project is a multi-year, collaborative effort to design, build, equip, and staff new or renovated elementary/middle school libraries in high-poverty neighborhoods.

13,000 books, valued at roughly $75,000, were collected at more than 100 sites across the Baltimore-metropolitan area that participated in the Book Drive held throughout the month of March. Book drive partners included, just to name a few, The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, Baltimore Child Abuse Center, Baltimore Community Foundation, Bogdan Computer Services, Catholic Charities, and Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. For a complete list of partners, visit www.baltimorelibraryproject.org. A second major infusion of books was recently added to the book drive thanks to T. Rowe Price, which just concluded its own book drive as part of its 75th anniversary celebration.

All books will be given to the libraries included in the first year of the Weinberg Library Project: Moravia Park Elementary, Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, and East Baltimore Community School. The books will be distributed in three ways at each school: new books will be placed in each of the new libraries, while slightly used books will be given for classroom and take home collections to help students practice and learn to read.

"We saw the Book Drive as the next logical extension of the Library Project, both in terms of equipping these new libraries and building on our wonderful partnerships," said Rachel Garbow Monroe, President of the Weinberg Foundation. "The power of community is essential to this project, and our community has exceeded all of our wildest expectations."

The Weinberg Foundation and its nearly 30 project partners are celebrating this success as they turn to the next big step in this project. Wednesday, September 12, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. will mark the grand openings of the first three new libraries in this multi-year, multi-million-dollar project. The official celebration will take place at Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle beginning while simultaneous events will occur at Moravia Park Elementary and Southwest Baltimore Charter School. At this event, The Weinberg Foundation and its project partners hope to announce the next schools that will be part of the library project!

For more information on the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project, please visit www.baltimorelibraryproject.org or contact Kate Sorestad at [email protected].

About The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, provides approximately $100 million in annual grants to nonprofits that provide direct services to economically disadvantaged people, primarily in the U.S. and Israel. Grants are focused on meeting basic needs and enhancing an individual's ability to meet those needs with emphasis on older adults, the Jewish community, and our hometown communities of Maryland, northeastern Pennsylvania, and Hawaii. The trustees, some of whom also serve as executive officers of the Foundation, are Alvin Awaya, Judge Ellen M. Heller, Robert T. Kelly, Jr., Barry I. Schloss, and Chairman of the Board Donn Weinberg. Rachel Monroe serves as the Weinberg Foundation's President. For more information please go to www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.

Media Contact: Craig Demchak, 443-738-1159
[email protected]

SOURCE Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation