PITTSTON TOWNSHIP — The United Way of Wyoming Valley’s Christmas in July drive got some help from a NASCAR driver on Friday. Truckloads of food and ...

PITTSTON TOWNSHIP -- The United Way of Wyoming Valley's Christmas in July drive got some help from a NASCAR driver on Friday.

Truckloads of food and water were placed on carts, weighed, and then sorted at the CEO Weinberg Food Bank in Pittston Township.

The United Way of Wyoming Valley's Christmas in July drive for feeding and reading competition was in its final day.

"Your food donations will come to the Weinberg Food Bank. Monetary donations go to our Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which is a reading initiative for the youngest of children," explained United Way's Bill Jones.

The United Way of Wyoming Valley along with Sundance Vacations and 65 other different businesses and organizations spent the month of July holding food drives.

When people donated money or checks, that helped buy books to help with childhood education.

Last year, the organization collected 10,000 pounds of food and more than 11,000 books for kids.

Donations to food banks can see drops during the summer months. That's why the United Way of Wyoming Valley decided to have a Christmas in July food drive to help keep people nourished."You're hungry all year around, not just during Christmas and Thanksgiving, so we know that this is a real important drive for the community," Jones said.

"You're hungry all year around, not just during Christmas and Thanksgiving, so we know that this is a real important drive for the community," Jones said.

During the competition, kids for the Wilkes-Barre CYC had a meet and read along with NASCAR driver Derrike Cope. He will line up against other drivers to race along the Tricky Triangle this weekend but says a child's ability to learn shouldn't be as difficult.

"With early childhood development at ages up to 3, most of the development starts for their minds and it's important that we get them to understand how important reading really is," Cope said.