BookFest 2025: Ready for a Summer of Reading

During our eighth annual BookFest, more than 8,200 books were distributed to over 1,600 children in Lane County - across 14 schools in 9 school districts.

We’ve just wrapped up our eighth annual BookFest and – wow! – what a success!

Thanks to the support of our communities, we were able to distribute more than 8,200 books to over 1,600 children in Lane County - across 14 schools in 9 school districts.

Choosing from over 350 titles – ranging from graphic novels to chapter books, easy readers and picture books to bilingual selections – K-2 students were able to pick out five brand new books that they can keep forever, helping to build their own library before they go home for the summer.

Thank You!

This incredible event could not have happened without the support of so many people in our community:

Thank you to our sponsors at the Eugene Education Foundation, Springfield Education Foundation, Sierra Pacific Foundation, Oregon Community Credit Union, Evergreen Engineering, Inc., Pacific Cascade Federal Credit Union, SELCO Community Credit Union, and The Duck Store.
Thank you to the incredible volunteers who helped us sort books, stuff bags, unload boxes, and help kids pick out their new favorite books. Over 100 volunteers joined us this year from across our diverse communities, including folks from SMART Readers, local credit unions, corporate sponsors, education foundation sponsors, and board members at education foundations and United Way.

We also want to thank YOU for your support and investment in United Way of Lane County. With your support, we are able to host impactful local programs and events like BookFest to ensure that our local children thrive.

“Increasing children’s access to books is one of the cornerstone components to improving reading scores. Having access to books of interest – chosen by the kids themselves – helps to increase a child’s likelihood of reading proficiently by third grade, which is a powerful predictor of graduation rates, lifetime earnings, and children’s overall ability to succeed.”

— Noreen J. Dunnells, President and CEO of United Way of Lane County