Free Book Deliveries Return

BBB4E is proud to announce the return of the Book Brigade: A Call to Action for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. This original initiative started in 2013 with the collection of new and pre-loved books that were distributed for free by a team of volunteers going door-to-door with red wagons in Hammond neighborhoods. 

Please join BBB4E friends, families and alumni Tuesday Sept. 12 at the newly painted Merge Building on Hohman ave. to celebrate BBB4E’s 23rd Birthday and the return of the Book Brigade! The event will have a cake cutting and reception at 5:30. 

We are now seeking volunteers to help sort and distribute books as well community and corporate partners to provide financial sponsorships and other in-kind support. Business logos can be included on volunteer shirts, Book Brigade marketing materials, and the sticker in each book distributed. 

Routes will take place every Tuesday evening between Sept. 12-Oct. 3. Book delivery routes were determined with feedback from the Hammond Police Department. We will be visiting communities around Harrison Park, Hammond Central High School, Irving Elementary and Harding Elementary. 

The Book Brigade is a kind of mobile library that promotes literacy and the exchange of ideas one door at a time, one family at a time. This direct connection is now more important than ever to address the social and emotional disruptions of the pandemic.

The importance of books was even recently noted in an open letter to “the dedicated and hardworking librarian of America” by former President Barack Obama. 

“Books have always shaped how I experience the world,” Obama wrote. “Writers like Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Walk Whitman and James Balwind taught me something essential about our country’s character.” 

Books by these and other authors are available to families through the Book Brigade. BBB4E is proud to be a part of promoting a literate community that is enthusiastic about education.