Danielle Swope didn't know what to do with all the books she'd amassed during the early years when her four kids were learning to read. When they'd moved on to other books, Swope thought about getting rid of the beginner books.

But it seemed a waste. Those books, which had brought such joy to her kids, deserved a second life. She packed them in boxes and dropped them off at a Portland Public Schools Head Start site.

Head Start works with children from low-income families to help them succeed in kindergarten, setting the stage for a productive journey into elementary school and beyond. Swope thought the program could hand out her books to kids for free. Not long after that, Swope started getting phone calls from other Head Start sites asking if she was the book lady. Word had spread. Other families wanted to know if they, too, could get books.

And that's how, in 2008, The Children's Book Bank began.

"If my family had books to share, then I knew other families could do the same thing," said Swope. "My mission was to get the books from families to children who needed them."

Once operated out of Swope's basement, the nonprofit is now in a 5,000-square-foot Northeast Portland warehouse. The program has an annual budget of $509,500 and is almost entirely supported by individual donors, local and family foundations and local corporations, said Swope. It received "a small amount of funding" from Portland Public Schools and Multnomah County last year but doesn't expect funding from the school district this year. There are eight employees, just two full time, and more than 100 volunteers.

Each year, the book bank distributes more than 100,000 used books to Multnomah County children who would otherwise go without. It is one of 10 nonprofits selected for The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2018 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign to benefit social services agencies in the region; this year's campaign is focusing on education and literacy.

"Books are the last thing a family in need considers," said Swope, the book bank's executive director. "Food, shelter, clothing, transportation and utilities all come first. Many families find it hard to even get to a library where they can check out a book. That means many kids grow up without books in the home."

Swope has heard from teachers who say that such children enter school behind their peers.

"I've had teachers say that they can tell on the first day of school if a child hasn't been exposed to books in the home," she said. "Their vocabulary and letter recognition are behind their peers. It can make the first school experience challenging. That's where we come in."

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"If my family had books to share, then I knew other families could do the same thing. My mission was to get the books... Posted by The Oregonian on Wednesday, November 21, 2018

The bank relies on community-wide book drives where books are collected and brought to the warehouse. There, volunteers clean the books, making them look as good as new, then sort them by age and topic.

"We want the books to feature characters of all races and backgrounds," she said. "We want the kids to see themselves in these books because it shows them the possibilities in life."

Volunteers then select 14 books per child, making sure the books are age-appropriate, diverse and interesting. The bundles are placed in green book bags that are taken to Head Start sites throughout Multnomah County.

Brandy Stephens said her 7-year-old daughter, Adaiyah Gilliam, has received book bags.

"The books have expanded her horizons," said Stephens. "She likes stories, and a good book that engages her is the best way to show her that reading is fun. In our house, it's exciting. We read together daily."

Swope said she never wants books for a child to be considered an unaffordable luxury.

"There are so many challenging problems facing our community," she said. "This book bank offers a tangible solution to at least one issue. What I've learned in the last decade is that we can make a direct difference in a life."

What your donation can do

$20: Provides six children each with a new book that features a character of color so more children can see themselves and their friends reflected in books.

$50: Provides a family with a home library of 14 picture books.

$75: Provides school-age children the opportunity to choose enough books to read a book a week over summer vacation.

How to donate

Send checks to:

Season of Sharing

Oregonians Credit Union

336 N.E. 20th Ave.

Portland, OR 97232

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224

Twitter: @thallmanjr