dd's DISCOUNTS and First Book Celebrate Partnership's 10th Anniversary

"dd’s and First Book have made such an amazing impact on our students. Thanks to this program we have been able to get high interest, age-appropriate books into the hands of our students and build home libraries! We are growing a culture of readers!" This year, dd's DISCOUNTS and First Book celebrated the 10th anniversary of our partnership! First Book is honored to partner in the amazing work that dd's, its teammates, its customers, and its leaders undertake year after year to drive positive change in the communities they serve. Since 2009, dd’s customers have helped raise more than $3 million dollars, which has in turn delivered 1,370,511 books to kids in need. And we're still counting! Last year alone, dd's reached 256 programs and distributed 198,000 books to communities that dd's serves nationwide. Through our longstanding partnership, we elevate educational opportunities for children in need and provide high-quality books and resources to children in dd’s DISCOUNTS communities. dd's DISCOUNTS  "helped us to purchase an enormous amount of books that our school would otherwise not have been able to," said an educator from Somerset Academy JFK in Florida. "We were able to replenish classroom libraries, to gift books to students who we know don't have ideal home situations and don't have access to books, and to reward our students with gifts after meeting personal goals. Thank you!!" dd’s DISCOUNTS runs an annual back-to-school donation drive with First Book. When customers check out, they're able to make a donation. All the money raised goes to local programs. This hyper-local fundraising model enables community members and store employees to raise dollars and keep them locally to benefit a nearby school or organization. "Many of our students love to read but do not have access to a library or have books to read at home.  This program allows most of the students to have a couple of books to enjoy." "Kids and parents are so excited to receive a book that is theirs to keep. For many of our kids, this is the first book they have ever owned, and in some cases, the first book in the home," said one educator from the San Bernardino County Library in California. Hundreds of dd’s employees volunteer for these fundraising efforts to celebrate the joy of reading with children at elementary schools in their communities. They've organized store celebrations and displays to fundraise for schools, and one store even held a bake sale to raise extra money for books! "This is a wonderful program for schools like ours that do not have a substantial budget," an educator from Sarah Marley Elementary School in Arizona. "New books are like having another Christmas Day for elementary students.  Thank you dd's store for taking literacy to another level at our school. We really appreciate your fundraiser and the excitement this provokes in our students to read the new books."

Thank you, dd's DISCOUNTS, for an amazing 10 years. We look forward to many more!