City National Bank’s Reading is the Way Up nonprofit literacy program, in partnership with Barnes & Noble, donated 65,000 new books — including 1,300 in Carson City — to 33 schools and nonprofit organizations in Nevada, California, New York City, and Nashville, Tenn.
In Carson City, the books were donated to John C. Fremont Elementary School.
The book donations were part of the seventh annual Holiday Book Drive last December at Barnes & Noble, in partnership with the Reading is the Way Up program at City National.
Customers at 17 Barnes & Noble stores in four states donated 32,500 new books, which City National matched with a $100,000 donation for an additional 32,500 new books to be purchased through Barnes & Noble by the school librarians at each of the schools receiving books. This donation also sets a new record for the number of books ever donated through this holiday program.
The City National and Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive ran from Dec. 1 through Jan. 1 and included 17 stores in the four states where the bank operates. City National and Barnes & Noble representatives are presenting the book and monetary donations to school administrators at school assemblies over the next several weeks.