The Citrus Heights Reads Program is celebrating a record-breaking book drive and new partnership with the Birdcage Barnes & Noble store, where sales staff managed to collect donations of more than 1,800 books for children in the fall, all of which were officially delivered this week to the Sayonara Community Center.

“It’s really incredible,” said Rosa Umbach who oversees the Reads Program as chair of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce’s education committee.  Her committee now administers the program, jointly launched in 2004 by Jim Reiman, president of neighborhood area 11 in Citrus Heights, County Supervisor Sue Frost, and local Rotary Club representative Charlie McComish.  “It’s really challenging for sales associates to solicit customers and convince them to spend more money once they get to the registers, but we almost doubled the number of books donated this time around.”

Previous book drives have netted only close to 500 books. Last year’s first book drive with Barnes & Noble as a partner, however, generated 1,000 books.  This year, the sales team at the Birdcage store produced 1,800 books for Sayonara Community Center, which provides critical afterschool programs for students in grades K-12 in a neighborhood that has overcome high-crime and poverty issues over the last decade.  Customers who shopped the Birdcage Barnes & Noble between November and December of 2016 were asked to purchase a book in addition to their sale, which was then set for donation to the center.

The company has, historically, stuck to its own, company-wide holiday book drive, during which store team members select charities to support.  But clearly the partnership between the chamber’s Reads Program and Barnes & Noble is amidst the building of a new tradition.

“We are really impressed with how this went,” says Mike Troyan, Barnes & Noble manager of community and business development who was onsite for the official book delivery to Sayonara Center.  “This is a new drive, separate from the holiday drive we have done annually for years, and a new partnership for us. We didn’t even have signage for it when we entered into the agreement.”

Reads Program co-founder Jim Rieman said the fundamental need to ensure all kids can read is something he takes personally.

“I was one of those kids who couldn’t read,” Rieman said. “By the time I got to the fourth grade, I was in trouble. But fortunately, my fifth-grade teacher knew what was going on for me and helped me. This is why I got so involved in starting the reading program to begin with. All kids need to be able to read in order to stand a chance.”

The chamber’s education committee includes representatives from Citrus Heights schools, businesses and the greater community.  The Reads Program is just one piece of the committee’s efforts to serve area schools. Roughly 15 program “reader leader” mentors also provide reading help for K-12 students in eight schools across the city for a minimum of one hour per week for one year.  There also is a Student of the Month contest, in which one student is selected for exceptional citizenship and academic achievement, a spring and summer book drive, an annual schools supply drive, which has, exceeded $8,000 for classroom supplies and growing, as well as mini-career fairs and job preparation workshops.