Keep Cape Reading reaches out to local food pantries

When schools, libraries, and bookstores shut down in March during the coronavirus pandemic, the Lewes Public Library moved quickly into outreach mode, putting together the Keep Cape Reading initiative with help from Browseabout Books and the Cape Henlopen School District.

“For many children in the Cape district, school provides them their best access to books,” said Jennifer Noonan, children’s librarian at Lewes Public Library. “With schools closed, we knew many would be challenged to continue reading at home.”

The library started a campaign, soliciting contributions from the community to purchase books that would be distributed at Cape district school meal delivery. “If they can’t come to us, we’re going to go to them,” said Noonan. “We knew many people in the Lewes/Rehoboth area were looking for ways to help, and as usual, they stepped up in a big way. This community is amazingly generous.”

To date, the Keep Cape Reading initiative has raised more than $15,000 to support book-distribution efforts, and has given away more than 800 brand-new books to students in the Cape district. While the main mission of the initiative was to get books into the hands of kids who need them, the secondary mission is to help support local independent bookstores.

“We knew that local businesses here were faced with big challenges being shut down,” said Noonan. “We have a strong partnership with Browseabout Books, and because we purchased the books through them, this was a way we could help them keep the lights on and pay their employees.”

The initiative has been successful enough to extend beyond its initial phase distributing books with school meals. Some extra books from the project will be donated to the Cape Bookmobile, which the Cape district operates in the summer, distributing books to kids in the neighborhoods it serves. The remaining books and money will be used to install bookcases in local food banks and community centers.

“If you don’t have enough in your budget to buy all the food you need, you don’t have enough to buy books,” said Noonan. “And even once we reopen, coming to the library is not always an easy option for families.”

Kids who visit the food bank with their family will be able to take a book home with them for keeps every time. The library was able to purchase five bookcases and intends to keep them stocked all summer, and beyond, with new books purchased with remaining funds. The first bookcase was installed June 23 at the Community Resource Center, which has a food rescue program serving the area.

"The world suddenly went topsy-turvy for kids because of the pandemic,” says Jo Allegro-Smith, CRC director. “It is such a joy to see their excitement when they get to pick a special book to call their own. The Keep Cape Reading program makes a huge difference in the lives of these children. We're so happy to partner with the Lewes library.”

Noonan is passionate about making sure kids have access to books. “It’s really hard to succeed in life if you can’t read well. And it’s really hard to learn to read well if you don’t have books at home to practice with. But we can do something about that. There are enough resources in this community to make sure every kid has books at home they want to read.”

For more information about Keep Cape Reading, contact Jennifer Noonan at the Lewes library by calling 302-645-2733.