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Collier County

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, each year First Book distributes millions of free and low-cost books to disadvantaged children and the programs that serve them.

First Book-Collier County is dedicated to putting a steady stream of new books into the hands of children living in poverty in our community–books for them to read and own.  Books in the home are vital to a child’s ability to read and learn.  As the educator Jeff McQuillan wrote in The Literacy Crisis, “The critical factor determining whether a child becomes a reader is simple access to reading materials and, specifically, the number of books in the home.”

Children in middle-class homes own an average of 13 books.  In low-income families, however, there is only one book for every 300 children.

Since we founded First Book-Collier County in 2005, our Board has worked diligently to address this problem.  In the past five years, thanks to the generous support of our donors, we have been able to give over 215,000 books to needy children in our community.

Thanks to this exceptional record of achievement, First Book-Collier County has become one of the leading chapters of the First Book national organization based in Washington, D.C

Local Sponsors and Donors

We are able to provide brand-new, high-quality books to children in our community thanks to the generous financial contributions of local businesses and individuals. First Book-Collier County thanks the following organizations for their support:

And many other partners, individuals and foundations!

Book Grant Recipients

First Book-Collier County has given book grants to many programs in Collier County. Read the current list of recipients.

First Book Wants You!  

We are looking for passionate, entrepreneurial people who want to make a difference in their community. Help us get books to kids who need them most.

Contact Us

You can contact us by sending an email.