Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Stanly County Schools will hand out more than 1,000 books to students at each of its four meal distribution sites from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The sites are Albemarle Middle, Badin Elementary, South Stanly Middle and Stanfield Elementary.

The books were purchased by the Toys for Tots Foundation, which distributes millions of toys to children at Christmas each year, and sent to Stanly County Partnership for Children, which distributed them to SCS. The majority of the books are geared towards elementary and middle school students, said Debbie Pressley, assistant coordinator for Stanly County Toys for Tots.

She said while the usual toy collection and distribution campaign runs from October through mid-December, “this year, with the current situation of children out of school and staying at home, Toys for Tots Foundation offered an opportunity for campaigns to receive books to be distributed through lunch programs so that children would have a book to read at home.”

Stanly County Toys for Tots received 1,000 books through the program along with about 200 books donated locally that have been given to Stanly County Schools to distribute, Pressley said.

Superintendent Dr. Jeff James emphasized the importance for children to continue learning during the summer.

“Encouraging children to read is one of the most important gifts we can give,” he said. “Reading is the foundation of getting a great education. We appreciate the donation and hope our students enjoy the books we distribute.”

The first toy collection and distribution campaign was started by the Stanly County Marine Corps League Detachment #1021 in 2005, Pressley said. The toys purchased through the Toys for Tots Foundation and collected locally are delivered to Stanly Community Christian Ministry, West Stanly Christian Ministries and Community Coalition for Christ who distribute to the families.

In 2019, 5,696 toys were distributed to 1,519 children in Stanly County at Christmas.

The national Toys for Tots program, run by the U.S. Marines Corps Reserve, began in 1947 and has distributed 584 million toys to 265 million children across the country, according to its website.

For more information about the local Stanly chapter or to donate toys visit badin-nc.toysfortots.org.