Books to Benefit, 360 Wylie Dr., Suite 700, Normal IL, 61761
BOOKS TO BENEFIT ANNOUNCES $8,000 IN LITERACY GIFTS, $500 SCHOLARSHIP

Books to Benefit, a local non-profit that holds semi-annual book sales to raise money for local literacy programs, announced gifts of $6,000 to STAR Adult Literacy and $2,000 to YouthBuild McLean County, in addition to funding a second $500 scholarship for a nontraditional student at Heartland Community College this fall.

"Thanks to the generous support of our customers," Books to Benefit President Michelle Klatt said, "our June sale was very successful, allowing us to increase our gift to STAR by 50% over our gift in November 2018." Shelia Diaz of STAR added her thanks, stating, "The support of Books to Benefits and its customers is amazing. Their support helps us to be able to serve the needs of a variety of students who need to improve their reading or math skills or to learn English as a second language. Our learners come to us at many different levels and learning needs. This gift gives us the means to provide material targeted to the specific educational needs and goals of our adult learners."

Tracey Polson of YouthBuild said “Our partnership with Books to Benefit helps not only provide financial support to our literacy programs but it also serves as an example to our students on the power of community service and volunteerism. We are so thankful that this group exists and that we are part of a community that is so supportive in literacy activities.”

"Offering a second textbook scholarship at Heartland Community College," Klatt said, "is pretty exciting. As with our annual $500 scholarship, this scholarship is funded through our bake sale and will be available to help a nontraditional student cover textbook costs. That's a lot of goodies, and a special 'Thank you' to all the bakers and hungry customers who made this possible!"