The RSVP Center of Essex and Hudson Counties, a program of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest New Jersey, is thankful to be the recipient of Barnes & Noble of Springfield, New Jersey’s Annual Book Drive. The 600 + books collected will benefit RSVP’s Reading Buddies program, which matches older adult volunteers with elementary school students.

Reading Buddies introduces the love of books and increases literacy in young children. Early literacy is linked with academic achievement, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life. Julie Cramer-Le, RSVP program manager, commented: “Reading Buddies just wrapped up a successful virtual school year in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know how hard our teachers and schools worked this year to support their students, and our volunteers were fortunate to be part of that effort, working with classrooms to promote literacy and learning.

“We are so appreciative of Barnes & Noble Springfield for thinking of our program,” she continued. “Their generous donation helps us provide books to our volunteers as well as send books home with our students at the end of the year to keep them reading over the summer.” The program has shown to be very effective in helping to increase literacy, reading comprehension and vocabulary in children grades K-2.