The Little Red Reading Bus of West Fargo, now a service of the West Fargo Public Library, is participating in Giving Hearts Day, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Funds raised from Giving Hearts Day will help support a new Kindergarten-readiness program at the library and the Little Red Reading Bus summer route. To donate, visit https://app.givingheartsday.org/#/charity/1016 or search for “The Little Red Reading Bus” at GivingHeartsDay.org 

Founded in 2018, the Little Red Reading Bus was a library on wheels with the goal of bringing books to children during the summer months within West Fargo Public Schools district. Through tremendous community support and use of the bus, the bus has successfully circulated more than 14,000 books to hundreds of West Fargo children and families since its launch. While ownership of the bus has shifted this year, the bus’s objectives for 2021 are staying the same and it will continue to serve as an outreach program for the West Fargo Public Library. 

“In its first three years, the Little Red Reading Bus has given West Fargo Public Schools students the opportunity to maintain reading success during the summer,” said Library Director Carissa Hansen. “We want to keep up this great program, because we know children who read in the summer are more confident learners as they enter the new school year, avoid summer learning loss and enhance their overall reading achievement.” 

A Mobile Library Task Force, established earlier this year, is currently working to plan for the future of the Little Red Reading Bus. More details about the bus’s summer 2021 route will be made available this spring. The task force is also working to plan for future seasons, with a focus on providing equitable access to library services for all underserved populations in West Fargo. For now, the Little Red Reading Bus will continue to focus on bringing books to the children of West Fargo, regardless of their socioeconomic status. 

To support this cause, the library is participating in Giving Hearts Day. 

“Every dollar raised for the bus on Giving Hearts Day will help put books directly in the hands of West Fargo students through our summer route and our new Ready to Read Kindergarten-readiness program,” Hansen said. 

Besides monetary donations, community members can support the cause by donating their time as a Little Red Reading Bus volunteer. They can also sign up as a social media ambassador to spread the word about the Little Red Reading Bus leading up to Giving Hearts Day. To receive information about the social media ambassador program, sign up at https://bit.ly/wfplambassador. For more information about volunteer opportunities or to support the Little Red Reading Bus this Giving Hearts Day, visit http://bit.ly/wfreadytoread.