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Bernie’s Book Bank increases book ownership in Milwaukee By: Allie Shane, Communications Specialist  Each March, schools and educational organizations nationwide celebrate Read Across America Day. Launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA), this holiday serves as a reminder of the power of book ownership and the positive benefits of reading. Yet in many metropolitan areas, access to age-appropriate, high-quality and culturally relevant books is severely lacking. Research indicates that 61 percent of low-income families have no books in their homes for their children. Bernie’s Book Bank, a nonprofit organization with roots in the Chicagoland area, is breaking down barriers to literacy through an efficient, sustainable and scalable metropolitan-based book bank model. The organization’s recent expansion into Milwaukee has transformed book ownership in our community and will continue to do so for years to come.  Addressing a need CEO and Founder Brian Floriani launched Bernie’s Book Bank in 2009 in honor of his father, Dr. Bernard P. Floriani, a man who devoted his life to promoting literacy. Dedicated to creating pathways to success through book ownership, the organization sources millions of new and gently used children’s books to its headquarters in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Volunteers sort the books into appropriate age groups and place them into bags. The bags are distributed to school districts and early childhood programs. Each child served by Bernie’s receives eight quality books that they can call their own. Jennifer Doucette is the principal at the Illinois-based Cooper School. She has witnessed Bernie’s profound impact on her students. “Bernie’s Book Bank is making a tangible difference in the lives of countless children in the local school system. Imagine a world where every child has access to books, where every young mind is nourished with the magic of storytelling and the wonder of imagination. Bernie’s Book Bank is turning that dream into reality, one book at a time,” said Doucette. Since 2009, Bernie’s has distributed over 28 million free children’s books. This number will continue to grow as the organization builds its presence in the Milwaukee community.  Expanding across state lines In 2019, the Arnold Family Foundation funded a five-year Randomized Control Trial (RCT) conducted by Dr. Geoffry Borman to measure the impact of the Bernie’s Book Bank model. Bernie’s worked in partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), a school system that had not yet been saturated by the organization’s distribution model. 30 MPS schools received free books from Bernie’s, and a control group of 30 MPS schools did not. The RCT not only proved that Bernie’s model significantly impacts children’s reading achievement, but it provided Bernie’s with the opportunity to begin serving a community in need of literacy support. Data released from The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) indicates that in 2022, 73 percent of MPS fourth graders tested below the basic reading level. MPS also had the fourth largest decline in reading scores for fourth graders among 25 districts with comparable results from 2019. During the 2024-2025 school year, Bernie’s was able to provide all 60 MPS schools that participated in the RCT with books. This equates to 20,000 students and 160,000 books distributed in the Milwaukee community since 2019.  Looking to the future Bernie’s is excited to continue driving positive changes in Milwaukee. A $500,000 investment made by the late Natalie A. Black in honor of her husband, Herbert V. Kohler Jr., gives the organization a solid foundation to permanently expand its business into the Milwaukee community. Once Bernie’s raises $1 million, Black will match the initial investment with an additional $500,000. Under the leadership of the Milwaukee chapter’s Executive Director Jenna Renno, the organization hopes to meet its bold goals of building a local operational facility by the end of 2025 and distributing books to an estimated 96,000 qualifying children in the Greater Milwaukee area by the end of 2026. Bernie’s is building strong partnerships with the City of Milwaukee Office of Early Childhood Initiatives and numerous other organizations to help reach these goals. Groups and individuals who volunteer their time by preparing bags of books for distribution also play a critical role in advancing Bernie’s mission. Currently, the organization hosts 30,000 volunteers annually at its Lake Bluff headquarters - many corporate and civic groups - and hopes to also host several thousand more volunteers at its Greater Milwaukee facility. “It's so exciting to see how a seemingly small gesture of giving out a book can create such a big impact on a child's life,” said Renno. WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:
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