NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Continuing its commitment to the Greater New Haven community, Yale Bulldogs for Change (YBC) is holding a book drive for the New Haven Reads Book Bank from Oct. 1 until Nov. 21. Through the book drive, YBC seeks to increase the inventory of books that have representation consistent with the communities they serve. The goal is for Yale athletics staff, Student-Athletes Advisory Committee (SAAC) members and the local community to help collect reading material authored by or featuring people of color to distribute to kids in the New Haven community. Anyone interested in donating books can mail them to the Yale Athletics Department offices at Ray Tompkins House:

Yale Athletics Department
ATTN: New Haven Reads Book Drive
20 Tower Parkway
New Haven, CT 06520

A list of suggested books and Black-Owned bookstores in Connecticut are below. Books with the highest demand include children's books, baby books, picture books and youth chapter books. Multiple copies of the same book are acceptable, as books will be distributed to multiple families.

New Haven Reads' mission is to share the joy and power of reading. The organization's Book Bank contains books for both children and adults and is set up like a bookstore, but everything is free. All books are donated by individuals or community groups.

"We are constantly looking for ways to make the campus a better and more inclusive place for not just athletes but all students," said Yale football defensive back Dathan Hickey. A native of Bristol, Conn., Hickey is on the Yale Bulldogs for Change Community Service Committee. He had 25 tackles as a sophomore last year while helping the Bulldogs earn a share of the Ivy League Championship.

"Giving back is more than important to me," Hickey said. "Knowing where you come from is something you should always be proud of because that's what allowed you to be the person you are today. Being from Connecticut, that is what I intend to do every opportunity I get. In Bristol, I help out with the youth sports programs and work with the parks and recreation department working with the youth. I'm excited to get going in other parts of Connecticut with our New Haven family."

In addition to the Book Bank, New Haven Reads has a one-on-one literacy tutoring program for students ages 6-18 who are struggling with reading. It also has pre-k and kindergarten programs. New Haven Reads volunteers tutor more than 500 students each year. 

All New Haven Reads books and programs are free-of-charge. The Book Bank serves as a resource for the tutoring program and greater community, giving out approximately 130,000 free books each year to individuals, schools and community organizations.

For additional questions about the book drive, e-mail Nathalie.Carter@yale.edu
For more information about Yale Bulldogs for Change, click here.
For more information about New Haven Reads, click here.

Connecticut Black Owned Bookstores:
https://burgundybooks.com/about - Burgundy Books - Saybrook, CT
https://www.peoplegetreadybooks.com/ - People Get Ready - New Haven, CT
https://keybookstore.com/ - Key Bookstore - Hartford, CT


Suggested Books for Donation to New Haven Reads

Adult Books: 

• Americanah, Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
• Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Antagonists, Advocates and Allies: Wake up Call Guide for White Women Who Want to Become Allies for Black Women, Catrice Jackson
• Down The Mean Streets, Pri Thomas
• How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
• So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
• The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, Miriam Jimenez Roman & Juan Flores
• The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, Mehrsa Baradaran
• The New Jim Cow, Michelle Alexander
• We Can't Talk About That at Work, Mary-Frances Winters
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo
• Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race, Beverly D. Tatum

Kid/Teens Books:

• A is for Activist, Innosanto Nagara
• All Are Welcome, Alexandra Penfold
• Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
• Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson
• Hands Up!, Breanna J. McDaniel
• Let's Talk About Race, Julius Lester
• Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness, Anastasia Higginbotham
• Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice, Veronica Chambers
• Something Happened In Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice, Marianne Celano
• The Color of Us, Karen Katz
• The Day You Begin, Jacqueline Woodson
• The Skin You Live In, Michael Taylor
• The Youngest Marcher, Cynthia Levinson
• We're Different, We're the Same, Bobbi Kates