Book Drive

Book Drive
November 28–January 9

Give a child the gift of reading! Throughout the holiday season, the High is hosting its annual book drive to benefit the Westside Future Fund. This year’s book drive is in memory of acclaimed illustrator, artist, and author Jerry Pinkney (1939–2021). Pinkney’s children’s book illustrations inspired the launch of the High Museum’s children’s book exhibitions, beginning with Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney in 2013. To donate to the book drive, please bring a new children’s book or purchase one in the Museum Shop for 20% off.

Research shows that reading to young children not only provides healthy together time for caregivers and children but also offers many lifelong benefits, including increased vocabulary, curiosity, and memory; positive associations with books and reading; and a foundation for scholastic success.

Books from the High Museum book drive will benefit the Westside Future Fund, a nonprofit committed to helping Historic Westside neighborhoods revitalize and develop into a community Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud to call home. At the core of the Westside Future Fund’s mission is its dedication to the past, present, and future residents of the four Historic Westside neighborhoods: English Avenue, Vine City, Ashview Heights, and Atlanta University Center. These neighborhoods include the world’s largest consortium of historically Black colleges and universities; have a rich historical narrative of Black Atlanta academic, religious, political, and business leadership; and were home to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Julian Bond, Maynard Jackson, and other luminaries of the civil rights movement.

The Westside Future Fund partners with Atlanta Public Schools to support the Washington Cluster schools and aims to boost student achievement by providing access to STEM/STEAM programming and integrated wraparound support services for all students attending Washington Cluster schools.