Amazon Books store, The Book Foundation host event to provide books to homeless youth
By Kamala Kirk
In celebration of World Book Day, the Amazon Books store in Marina del Rey hosted The Book Foundation for an in-store shopping event that donated hundreds of books to local youth experiencing homelessness.
“The Book Foundation is excited to be with our partners at the Marina del Rey Amazon Books store to provide hundreds of books to youth experiencing homelessness at the Pacific Sunset Bridge Home,” said Ruth Stalford, founder and executive director of The Book Foundation. “We believe that literacy is the key to opening doors and creating opportunity, and our mission is to get new books into the hands of children in underserved areas. Fulfilling our mission wouldn’t be possible without donations like this from our friends at Amazon Books in Marina del Rey.”
The Book Foundation is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps get new books into the hands of children in underserved areas, based in the belief that literacy is the key to opening doors and creating opportunity.
The books will be used to stock the organization’s upcoming library installation or “Book Nook” at the Pacific Sunset Bridge Home in Venice Beach, a local shelter that houses homeless men and women, in addition to transitional-age youth.
The World Book Day event was part of a two-week nationwide Amazon Books campaign that ran from April 20 to May 3, where customers could gift new books at checkout to a local nonprofit focused on children’s literacy. All Amazon Books stores in Southern California donated the books collected throughout the campaign to The Book Foundation.
“Our store team was honored to partner with our friends at The Book Foundation to shop for hundreds of books to help stock the first library or ‘Book Nook’ for the youth living at the Pacific Sunset Bridge Home in neighboring Venice Beach,” said Irina Bekker, Amazon Books Marina del Rey lead associate. “With the increased strain on organizations over this past year, we’re humbled to be able to give back to our local community in this way. I am so glad that my team at Amazon Books Marina del Rey is able to provide these books for youth at The Pacific Sunset Bridge Home. I hope these stories inspire them the way they have always inspired me.”