Book Drive for Kids Austin

09/24/2026

Our 25-26 Impact Report is here! We served more than 10,000 students in Austin and gave away more than 17,000 books! Click here to see the full reporthttps://bdksurvey.org/BDK-Austin-Impact-Report-2025-26-compressed.pdf

09/17/2026

Yesterday, students at Berkman Elementary (Round Rock ISD) got to experience the fun book fair experience without needing money!

Every student at the school was able to choose a free brand-new book to take home and keep forever.

One student asked me, “you mean we get to keep this?”

Yes! You do not need to bring it back to the library. It is yours to keep at home.

Another student proudly told me that she now has four books. She had 2 books at home and now has four thanks to the generosity of our community.

Thank you to Austin Stone Community Church for doing a book drive for Berkman and providing fun and engaging books! 📚 And thank you for helping run the book fair!

Thank you to SouthState Bank for volunteering as well!

We appreciate all of our sponsors, donors and volunteers. You are making a difference.

09/15/2026

We have some good news to share!

Last May, we surveyed our librarian/school partners for feedback on our book fairs, and we received a 4.9 out of 5 for student excitement about our book selection!

We LOVE hearing that kids are genuinely excited about the books we bring.

But one more thing came out of that survey, and we think you should know it too.

We also asked librarians about the school-sponsored paid book fairs many of our campuses hold each year. At one school, only 1 in 10 students was able to buy a book. At another, just 1 in 7 went home with one. For most families at our partner schools, a $8 - $10 paperback simply isn't in the budget, so most kids don't go home with anything at all.

That's exactly the gap we exist to close. Every student at a Book Drive for Kids fair, every single one, picks out a brand-new book to keep for free.

Read the full results from 16 partner Title I schools.

09/14/2026

Last week, we held a school wide book fair at Pecan Springs Elementary in Austin ISD. The entire school got to choose 2 free new books (one from the main book fair and one from the STEM table).

We are BIG on choice. Look at the books these students chose to read and their big smiles! 😁

Thank you to the Lloyd Family Giving Fund for sponsoring the book fair and to our volunteers, including UT students in the Pi Beta Phi sorority, that made this all possible!

In total, 271 students took home 542 new books📔to read at home!

09/03/2026

Come see us on Sunday at La**rs & Literature!

07/27/2026

On Saturday, 501 children hand picked brand-new books to take home at the Back-to-School Fiesta organized by Community by Sanchez.

Thank you to H-E-B and the Lloyd Family Giving Fund for donating books 📚 to make this possible!

We loved seeing kid’s faces light up as they got to choose which book they wanted to read! 😊

And thank you to our lovely volunteers including mothers and daughters from the National Charity League, Austin 360 Chapter.

07/10/2026

06/05/2026

Thank you H-E-B for your generous donation of 1,000 new books for children in need!

05/23/2026

Teen Volunteers Wanted!

Summer opportunities- Sign up to help sort books in our warehouse & give away books at book giveaway in Cedar Park.

Join us this summer as we help childen living in poverty get access to books. Our goal is to help children in Austin build a home library with new books that actually interest them. We want to spark a love for reading! We have a summer book fair in June at an elmentary school in Cedar Park and wareh...

05/22/2026

How do we prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers?

By giving children STEM books!

This week, we had a STEM bonus table at our free book giveaway at Ortega elementary (Austin ISD) in East Austin.

Every child got to choose 1 book from the STEM table for summer reading.

Books choices included:
Who is Einstein?
Who is Galieo?
Marie Curie
Hidden Figures
1,001 Amazing Science Facts
Technology Activity Book
Can't Get Enough Shark Stuff
Can't Get Enough Space Stuff
Why? Animals
That's Gross!
Ada Twist, Scientist
My First Book of Planets
Ocean Animals for Kids
Little Kids First Big Book on the Ocean

In addition, students got to choose a book from the other tables and hit books included Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Bluey, Minecraft, Wonder, Goosebumps, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Babysitters Club, and books on the soccer player Ronaldo.

The students LOVED their books and promised to read them mulitple times over the summer.

Thank you to the multiple tech companies & TASSCC that sponsored every student getting 2 brand new books for summer reading! 📔