‘Fill the bus’ with books for Merced students

The Merced City School District is organizing a book drive in the hopes of providing a new or gently used book for each of its 10,800 students.

The book drive will end Sept. 10 at the Cap & Town celebration in downtown Merced, where the district hopes to fill a school bus with books.

The book drive is part of a new reading initiative called “Aim High, Target Success,” which shines the light on the importance of literacy. The initiative also offers steps parents can take at home to help children improve their reading skills. The goal is to get students reading at or above grade level and reading proficiently by the end of third grade.

Books can be dropped off through Sept. 9 in collection boxes at the following locations:

▪ Merced City School District office, 4444 W. 23rd St., Suite B

▪ Merced Civic Center’s first floor lobby, 678 W. 18th St.

▪ Paul’s Place, 2997 G. St.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 2:26 PM with the headline "‘Fill the bus’ with books for Merced students."