During the Bellevue Christian Center’s annual Feed the Multitudes Thanksgiving Outreach on Wednesday, Nov. 21 children will get to pick a book to take home and enjoy along with winterwear. All the books are the product of Bellevue Public School’s third districtwide Thanksgiving Book Drive.

Librarian Karissa Schroder got the idea to start the collecting books for the dinner a few years ago when she felt bad that children didn’t get to leave the dinner with anything. She recalled the joy getting books brought her and the awe she felt when seeing her friends’ full bookshelves. In all three years of the drive, Schroder said there has never been a shortage of books.

“It’s sort of dorky I guess, but when I was a kid having a full bookshelf made me feel rich,” Schroder said.

At each school there was a spot where donations could be dropped off. The librarians of the schools then mailed the books to Schroder. Once they were sorted into their appropriate genre and reading level, the contributions filled 27 boxes this year.

“It was really successful right from the start,” Schroder said. “People were really generous right from the start and they’ve just continued to be so generous.”