# Accepting Donations Now for Annual Kids Book Drive
Tenikka’s Books for Kids collects new and very gently used books for local children from birth to 18 years old. This includes everything from picture books for babies, books for new readers, and chapter books for teens. Books collected during this annual book drive are given to kids who participate in Jacksonville Public Library’s Summer Reading Program at no cost to children or their families.
Tenikka’s Books for Kids serves two key purposes:
- Encouraging children to read, thus preventing the “summer slide” where kids lose two to three months of what they learned in school.
- Providing free books for children to build their own libraries at home.
You can donate by:
- Dropping off books in #TB4K marked drop boxes at any Jacksonville Public Library or with participating Family Focus partners: First Florida Credit Union and First Coast YMCA.
- Ordering books online from a librarian-curated Amazon Wish List.
- Purchasing in-person or online from San Marco Books & More. Note: A portion of all #TB4K book sales are donated back to the Library.
- Making a monetary donation to the Tenikka’s Books for Kids Fund through our mutual nonprofit partner, Library Foundation of Jacksonville. Note: These funds are used to purchase books to be given out during Summer Reading Program.
Since it launched in 2018, Tenikka's Books for Kids has put nearly 30,000 books in the hands of local children. Thank you for helping us give the gift of reading to local children and please make time to read with the children in your life!
# "Open a book. Set your mind on fire!"
Tenikka Hughes is an award-winning advocate for youth literacy in Jacksonville and Emmy Award-winning news anchor at Action News Jax. She regularly reads to children at area libraries, schools, daycares and community centers. A longtime friend of Jacksonville Public Library, she recently sat down with us to share her story and her "Passion for Reading." Her insights inspire us all to embrace the joy of reading. By following Tenikka's advice—"Open a book. Set your mind on fire!"—we can foster a thriving, literacy-focused community across Duval County!
