Book drive benefitting Lowcountry students starts June 1

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A book drive to support children around the Lowcountry and honor one of the victims of the Charleston church shooting will start June 1.

The organization, Reading Partners, is asking the community to donate new and gently used children’s books for kindergarten through fifth-grade students. Those books will go to the Reading Partners program which includes a network of tutors working in Lowcountry schools with students to improve their literacy and reading levels.

The book drive supports the Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation in honor of Hurd, who worked for the county library system for 31 years. Hurd was killed in the 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church.

“This is an opportunity for us to focus on how Cynthia lived versus how she died,” her brother Malcolm Hurd said. “We all know the story. But she’s an amazing woman and I talk about who she was, a librarian, she was a true professional, a sister, a mother figure, an avid reader.”

This book drive is in partnership with Charleston County Public Library, Berkeley County Public Library, Mellow Mushroom and Live 5 News. You can donate books until June 30 at one of the following locations:

Drop off points are located at six Charleston County Public Library’s branch libraries:

Dorchester Road Regional Library – 6325 DorchesterRoad, North Charleston
Main Library – 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston
Baxter Patrick/James Island – 1858 Grimball Road, Charleston
Wando/Mt. Pleasant – 1400 Carolina Park Blvd., Mt. Pleasant
Bees Ferry/West Ashley – 3035 Sanders Road, Charleston
John Dart – 1067 King Street, Charleston

Drop off points at three Mellow Mushroom locations:

Mellow Mushroom North Charleston - 4855 Tanger Outlet Blvd., North Charleston
Mellow Mushroom West Ashley - 19 Magnolia Rd., Charleston

Drop off points at three Berkeley County Library locations:

Daniel Island Library, 2301 Daniel Island Dr., Daniel Island
Hanahan Library, 1216 Old Murray Dr., Hanahan
Goose Creek Library, 325 Old Moncks Corner Rd, Goose Creek

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