Three organizations, First Book, New Threads of Hope and M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group, have teamed up to offer Milwaukee area children and children across the country the ability to access hundreds of thousands of brand new books.
This week, more than 400,000 books provided by First Book, were shipped to schools and programs around the country via the New Threads warehouse in Milwaukee. Of those, more than 226,000 were distributed throughout Southeastern Wisconsin to organizations such as Messmer Catholic Schools, Journey House and Sam’s Hope.
The books were donated by First Book’s publishing partners, Random House and Disney Publishing Worldwide.
“At First Book, our mission is to get new books and educational resources into the hands of the children who so desperately need them,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. “We’re grateful to strong local partners like New Threads of Hope and M&I for making it possible to bring these books to schools and programs in Wisconsin and across the country.”
Milwaukee-based New Threads of Hope donated warehouse space and assistance with logistics and M&I employees volunteered with packing, shipping and pick up. M&I also contributed financial resources to New Threads to ensure the group would be able to take advantage of this significant book donation opportunity.
“We are grateful to lend our facility to take advantage of this great opportunity and provide the warehouse space and the sorting, processing and distribution services to make these books available to the community,” said Dennis Brand, president of New Threads of Hope. “But without the donation from First Book, the financial support from M&I, and the manpower from both organizations, this undertaking would not be possible.”
In total, 64 local organizations have received more than 226,157 donated books, which will be enjoyed by thousands of children throughout Southeastern Wisconsin.
