Bernie’s Book Bank will be featured on the Ruth Fell Wander Community Art Wall at First Bank of Highland Park throughout the month of December 2015.
Bernie’s Book Bank provides quality new and gently used books for at-risk children throughout Chicagoland. The exhibit, which will remain open to the community during First Bank of Highland Park’s regular hours, will showcase thank you letters and drawings from children who love and cherish the 12 books they receive a year from Bernie’s Book Bank. Additionally, First Bank of Highland Park will feature a book collection bin for those visitors who feel inspired to donate new or gently used children’s books to Bernie’s Book Bank.
This is an exciting time for Bernie’s Book Bank, as it prepares to move to a 35,000-square-foot facility located at 917 North Shore Drive in Lake Bluff, Ill. More than seven times the size of its current Lake Forest location, the space features a large book processing center, flexible event and exhibit space and room to accept and process hundreds of pallets of books at a time. This expansion would not be possible without the generosity of community partners such as First Bank of Highland Park.
In recognition of the bank’s commitment to Bernie’s Book Bank, the expanded facility’s conference meeting room will be named First Bank of Highland Park’s Think Tank Space. Located adjacent to the book processing area, this space can accommodate up to 40 people for anything from brainstorming sessions to board meetings to small dinner parties.
To more than 110,000 at-risk Chicagoland children, Bernie’s Book Bank currently delivers 12 age-appropriate, quality books each year from birth through sixth grade. The announcement of the expanded facility is the first step in the organization’s Next Chapter campaign, through which the nonprofit plans to bring its mission of bettering the lives of children through book ownership to other major cities in America.
The Ruth Fell Wander Community Art Wall was created in 2002 to showcase novice artwork from local schools and non-profit organizations, as well as to give visibility to the various resources and services offered to the community. Each month, First Bank of Highland Park extends a personal invitation to each artist and/or organization to attend a reception in celebration of their exhibition. First Bank of Highland Park has a commitment to serving and supporting the community. Independently owned and operated since 1955, the bank continues its dedication to personalized customer service. For more information call 847-432-7800 or visit www.firstbankhp.com.
Submitted by Bernie’s Book Bank
Founded as a 501(c)(3) in September of 2009, Bernie’s Book Bank collects, processes and distributes quality new and gently used children’s books to significantly increase book ownership among at-risk infants, toddlers and school-age children throughout Chicagoland. Bernie’s Book Bank delivers twelve quality new and gently used books per year to at-risk children; because book ownership enables and empowers them in their pursuit of a brighter future and a better life through reading. For more information about Bernie’s Book Bank, visit www.berniesbookbank.org.