UW-Eau Claire students can share a little more this holiday. The Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library’s “Give a Kid a Book” project hopes to provide more than 2,000 area children with a new book this holiday season.

This is the ninth year the project has collected books and donations for families in the area, said Cheryl Cutsforth, assistant library professor and co-chair for the project. The primary collection began Dec. 1 and ends Sunday, but collections are received throughout the year.

“Our goal is to give one new book to every child that qualifies,” Cutsforth said.

The project uses the screening done by The Salvation Army to find children who qualify for “Give a Kid a Book.”

Last year the project collected 2,700 books. Though the project has just started, it already received $1,800 as of last week, Cutsforth said.

Katherine Schneider, senior psychologist for Counseling Services and president of Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, organized group involvement on campus. The Association of Student Social workers collected books Sunday at the Eau Claire Wind Symphony holiday concert.

This year, Mortar Board, an academic honor society, is assisting the project for the first time. Members collected donations throughout the semester and will volunteer with the distribution. The organization allocated $300 of its May fundraiser, the graduation rose sales, for the project.

“A lot of time people don’t donate books that we need, like bilingual books, and we use the checks to buy things we don’t get,” Schneider said.

Mortar Board decided to work with this project because this year the nationwide theme for Mortar Board is “Reading is Leading,” Mortar Board President Matt Beasley said.

“The national theme is something we strive to bring to the local level and we wanted to work with the community and ‘Give a Kid a Book’ does that,” Beasley said.

The project is looking for books for babies, ages 2 to 5, chapter books for ages 6 to 14 and books for teens. Reference books, such as dictionaries and thesauruses, are also needed.

All donations will be received at the Mortar Board dinner for general members Thursday. The books will go to 10 local organizations to be distributed to the community. The big giveaway is through The Salvation Army, which also is providing dictionaries for families.

“I think we are unique because we are an academic honor society, which has active general members that participate actively, and we have donated the entire semester to the ‘Give a Kid a Book’ project,” Beasley said.

Students looking to participate can drop off new, unwrapped books at L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St., the UW-Eau Claire Bookstore or Borders Books Music & Cafe, 4030 Commonwealth Ave. Students can make a donation by writing checks payable to Mortar Board “Give a Kid a Book” and sending them to 418 B Chancellors Hall.

Getting the needed books leads to deeper goals of the project.

“Literacy is one of the prime indications of being successful,” Cutsforth said.

“Owning your own book that you can sit down with and read is important and we want children to have them in their homes.”