The Junior League of Portland is proud to announce a special collaboration between our 2016-2017 Provisional (New Member) Class and the Children’s Book Bank, aimed at improving early childhood literacy. Project BRANCH (Books Reaching Any CHild) is a volunteer initiative designed to provide leadership experiences for JLP members, generate book donations for our community partner, and drive awareness and support for each organization’s programming.

During the month of March 2017, the Provisional Class will run a three-phase program to collect and gift 15,000 books to the Children’s Book Bank. Over 100 members will volunteer in the community to man several book collection sites across the Portland-Metro area. A celebratory cleaning event is scheduled on Saturday, March 25, to help the Children’s Book Bank prepare these donated books for children in need.

Why Project BRANCH?

The Junior League of Portland has renewed our focus on ending the cycle of domestic violence towards women and children, and we recognize that this goal begins in part with empowering community advocates who support basic education initiatives. The Children’s Book Bank has been a valued partner of the JLP for many years. Research indicates that in low income neighborhoods, the ratio of books to children is one book for every 300 children. The CBB strives to close the “book gap,” one child at a time. We likewise believe that literary success in school – driven directly by book availability in the home – leads to improved education for all students, higher literacy/graduation rates, and stronger communities.