TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Book worms, rejoice! 40,000 free books were given out Saturday to children and educators in Leon County.
It's all part of a partnership with First Book, an organization that takes overstock from publishing companies and distributes free or reduced titles to teachers and communities.
In Leon County, 2,000 community members signed a petition asking First Book to provide books for free.
"It's immensely important, because in a lot of our communities, our children do not have books at home," said JoAnne McCall, President of the Florida Education Association. "They can actually come here and get an assortment, an array of books, absolutely free so that they can be reading at home, their parents can be reading with them. Books are the doorway to everything."
McCall says offering free books is one avenue the Florida Education Association can take to ensure that children in the Sunshine State have access to quality education.
