United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Holiday Book Drive

Book Drive

 

United Way's Holiday Book Drive brought to you by

 

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The 2023 Holiday Book Drive has officially come to an end. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the individuals, organizations, and companies that worked to make this Holiday Book Drive one of the most successful to date. And a special thank you to our Book Drive Sponsor, Capstone Health Alliance. We wouldn't have a Book Drive without their generosity. We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Barnes & Noble (Tunnel Road) for their continued partnership in this annual endeavor.

Your Impact by the Numbers

Because of your generous support, we

  • Put books into the hands of 1,030 youth
  • Partnered with 12 local high-impact organizations to distribute books throughout our community
  • Leveraged the skills and talents of 79 community volunteers who helped keep this year's Drive on track — a BIG THANK YOU to all who helped this year

We look forward to working with our community to continue to give the gift of literature to local youth in the future. Again, thank you for making this year's Drive a success!

 

 

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2022 Holiday Book Drive

A Shared Commitment To Students

The eleventh annual Holiday Book Drive is taking place November 1st through December 31st, 2023 thanks to the generous support of Capstone Health Alliance and Barnes & Noble Asheville.

Once again, we're making it incredibly easy to participate. Individuals, businesses, and nonprofits can support this year's Drive in two ways:

  1. Make an online donation and we'll purchase a book for you
  2. Shop in person at Barnes & Noble Asheville Mall

All donated books will be distributed to programs serving diverse, historically underserved communities throughout Buncombe County. Thanks to your generosity and care, since the drive's inception, over 17,000 books have been collected to ensure students have at-home access.

Shop at Barnes & Noble Asheville and Support Students in Buncombe County

Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the Asheville Mall are hosting our book drive so customers can easily donate books while shopping during the holidays. You can choose books from a culturally diverse selection being offered this year, purchase at checkout, and leave them with your cashier. We will collect the books at the end of the Drive and distribute them to community partners who will ensure they reach the students who need them most.

A Wish List

Feeling overwhelmed with holiday shopping? No problem, we've got you covered! Visit our Amazon Holiday Book Drive Wish List page to easily purchase a book for a local student.

 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL

The Big Bed    Bunmi Laditen

Wolf in the Snow    Matthew Cordell

Across the Bay    Carlos Aponte

Mrs. Katz and Tush    Patricia Polacco

Vamos! Let's go to the Market    Raul Gonzalez

Trombone Shorty    Bryan Collier

Freedom in Congo Square    Carole Boston Weatherford

Du Iz Tak?    Carson Ellis

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut    Derrick Barnes

My Papi Has a Motorcycle    Isabel Quintero

Coming on Home Soon    Jacqueline Woodson

Show Way    Jacqueline Woodson

Radiant Child    Javaka Steptoe

Going Down Home with Daddy    Keely Starling Lyons

Thank You Omu!    Oge Mora

Last Stop on Market Street    Matt de La Pena

Wonder Walkers    Micha Archer

Watercress    Andrea Wang

Mel Fell    Corey R. Tabor

The Me I Chose to Be    Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

Stuff of Stars    Marion Dana Bauer

What is Given From The Heart    Patricia C. Mckissack

Have You Ever Seen A Flower    Shawn Harris

Home is Inbetween    Mitali Perkins

Skin Again    Bell Hooks

I Am Enough    Grace Byers

The Other Side    Jacqueline Woodson

This is the Rope    Jacqueline Woodson

The Day You Begin    Jacqueline Woodson

The Colors of Us    Karen Katz

Sulwe    Lupita Nyong'o

Hair Love    Matthew A Cherry

Sugan In Milk    Thrity Umrigar

Of Thee I Sing    Barak Obama

The Undefeated    Kwame Alexander

Freedom Over Me    Ashely Bryan

Amazing Artists    J.P. Miller

Bayard Rustin    J.P. Miller

Brave Leaders and Activists    J.P. Miller

Charlotta Bass    J.P. Miller

Groundbreaking Scientists    J.P. Miller

Henry Louis Gates    J.P. Miller

Jackie Orms    J.P. Miller

Leland Melvin    J.P. Miller

Rebecca Lee Crumpler    J.P. Miller

Shirley Chisholm    J.P. Miller

Sports Heros    J.P. Miller

Wendell Scott    J.P. Miller

I Wish You Knew - English/Spanish    Jackie Azúa Kramer

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

Lety Out Loud    Angela Cervantes

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe    Carlos Hernandez

Brave. Black. First    Cheryl Hudson

Hello Universe    Erin Entrada Kelly

New Kid    Jerry Craft

The Season of Styx Malone    Kekla Magoon

Finding Langston    Lesa Cline-Ransome

The Hero Next Door    Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Gone Crazy in Alabama    Rita Williams-Garcia

Unspeakable the Tulsa Race Massacre    Carole Boston Weatherford

The Parker Inheritance    Varian Johnson

The First Rule of Punk    Celia C. Perez

The Mighty Miss Malone    Christopher Paul Curtis

Feathers    Jacqueline Woodson

The Crossover    Kwame Alexander

One Crazy Summer    Rita Williams Garcia

Merci Suarez Changes Gears    Meg Medina

Genesis Begins Again    Alicia D. Williams

A Glass House of Stars    Shirley Marr

American as Paneer Pie    Supriya Kelkar

The Rock and the River    Kekla Magoon

Locomotion    Jacqueline Woodson

Count Me In    Varsha Bajaj

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer    Carole Boston Weatherford

My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich    Ibi Zoboi

Harbor Me    Jacqueline Woodson

World Inbetween    Kenan Trebincevic, Susan Shapiro

The Thing I'm Most Afraid Of    Kristin Levine

Wolf Hollow    Lauren Wolk

HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL

Brown Girl Dreaming    Jacqueline Woodson

As Brave As You    Jason Reynolds

Ashes (Seeds of America Trilogy Series #3)    Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains (Seeds of America Trilogy Series #1)    Laurie Halse Anderson

Forge (Seeds of America Trilogy Series #2)    Laurie Halse Anderson

The Other Half of Happy    Rebecca Balcarcel

After Dupac and D Foster    Jacqueline Woodson

Me (Moth)    Amber McBride

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe    Benjamin Alire Saenz

They Called Us Enemy    George Takei

Hush    Jacqueline Woodson

All American Boys    Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down    Jason Reynolds

The Boy in the Black Suit    Jason Reynolds

Piecing Me Together    Renee Watson

We are Not From Here    Jenny Torres Sanchez

Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet    Laekan Zea Kemp

Sanctuary    Paola Mendoza

Legendborn    Tracy Deonn

The Hate U Give    Angie Thomas

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter    Erika Sanchez

X: A Novel    Ilyasah Shabazz, Kekla Magoon

United Way is partnering with a variety of organizations to ensure these books are in the hands of local students who need them most.

Asheville High School

Asheville Middle School

Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC

Delta House

Enka High School

Enka Middle School

Erwin High School

Erwin Middle School

Montford North Star Academy

North Buncombe Middle School

Owen Middle School

Project Lighten Up Virtual Learning Academy

Reach out and Read

Read to Succeed

Reynolds High School

Reynolds Middle School

Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective

YMCA of WNC

 

 

Interested in Helping? 

We are seeking volunteers to pick up books from the Barnes and Noble on Tunnel Road and deliver them to the United Way offices (50 South French Broad Avenue) on Mondays during the Drive. The time to pick up the books is flexible as long as it occurs between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm. To learn more, and to sign up online, please visit Hands On Asheville-Buncombe. 

And if your looking for year-round, ongoing opportunities to support youth throughout Buncombe County, log on HERE.