A record breaking number of books were collected during this year's Give-a-Book campaign.
Literacy Lambton Executive Director Tracy Pound is thanking Sarnia-Lambton residents for their generosity.
"We were absolutely floored by the results," said Pound. "[They were] the best in over three decades of this holiday tradition in fact. We collected 4,650 new books this year, compared to 3,786 new books in 2023."
She said their office rivals Santa's workshop during the collection campaign each year.
"It's a buzzing place and this year was no different," said Pound. "We had everyone from our main volunteers -- that help out every year -- right through to some of our adult program volunteers and even some of our learners rolled up their sleeves to pitch in and help."
She said the books were distributed through 38 frontline partners.
"We added a few more this year; Special Olympics, the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, and the Sacred Heart Food Bank, which serves downriver residents in the Port Lambton/Sombra area," said Pound.
She said the extra books help meet an increased need.
"Many of our frontline partners are working very, very hard to provide essentials for families and what was great about this year is that many of those agencies were struggling to meet that demand and came back and we were able to help them by providing even more books," she said.
The campaign's goal is to ensure every child in Sarnia-Lambton could experience the joy of unwrapping a new book over the holidays.
"Before the holidays, the majority go out in Christmas hampers to families in our community. Some of them went out to client Christmas parties, through partners like Pathways Health Centre for Children, St. Clair Child and Youth Services and the Children's Aid Society."
Pound thanked local donors and the staff at Coles in Lambton Mall and The Book Keeper at Northgate Plaza for their assistance.
She said women's groups, book clubs, the Rotary Club of Sarnia, the Optimist Club of Sarnia Lakeshore, Nova Chemicals and ARLANXEO also helped fund the campaign.