Bright Lights Book Project
Palmer, AK • EIN: 87-3365439
Mission: To put free books into the hands of appreciative readers.
Vision: Envisioning the power of literacy to change lives.
About
The Bright Lights Book Project is a Palmer, Alaska based organization. Our volunteers salvage, sort, clean, categorize, and distribute books locally and statewide. Books come from private donations, school districts, and other sources.
We currently stock over 40 bookcases that are located in area businesses, government buildings, and Palmer and Wasilla schools. We also ship books to villages off the road system. The bookcases are located in places frequented by the general public and by students. The books are free and need not be returned. Recipients include those of all ages, genders, and reading levels, with a focus being on providing books to children and young adults. For a list of all bookcases we stock with free books, see Locations on our website.
How Pick.Click.Give. makes a difference
The Bright Lights Book Project is a highly efficient, all volunteer organization that survives on donations. Bright Lights Book Project volunteers often hear from parents and teachers that the reason why students are less apt to read is because parents can’t afford to purchase books. We are addressing this need by making free books available to children and adults.
According to National Assessment of Educational Progress, Alaska currently has the lowest reading proficiency rate in the nation for fourth grade students. We are helping to counter this deficiency by making free books available to area school children. To this end, we partnered with the Mat-Su and Anchorage school districts and accepted a total of 19 pallets (stacked five-feet tall) of discarded books.
During 2024, the BLBP has given away over 70,000 books per year! Parents tell us that their children are growing up with the Bright Lights Book Project.