Counselor gives out books to kids in July 4th parade

Janet Borchers is gearing up for Independence Day but she isn’t buying fireworks or preparing for a picnic.

She is fundraising, ordering, and packing up books for the fourth of July parade at Riverside Park on July 1.

Borchers has handed out free books to youngsters on the parade route for more than three years.

But with increasing demand and more and more little hands sticking out during the parade give away Borchers had to get creative.

“I wanted to be able to give out more books because it’s exciting for these kids to get a new book in their home,” said Borchers, of Bonita Springs.

Borchers, the guidance counselor at Springs Creek Elementary usually enlists the help of local businesses to donate money to supply the more than 500 books she usually gives out.

This year, she got a grant for $1,000 and through a special program, paid one dollar for each book — 500 more than last year.

“That number meets the numbers of kids that we see on the parade route and the kids get to participate in a way that is different. It’s fun for them to get the books,” Borchers said.

The first two years, she focused on handing out books for kids in preschool until the interest grew.

“So many other kids had their hands out so as donations grew, we got books for other grade levels as well,” she said.

The project began as a service project kids from Springs Creek could do during the summer but it turned into something more.

“I thought it would be fun to do something during the summer with the kids and remind them that reading is important,” Borchers said.

Handing out 1,000 books within a mile of parade route is a big job that Borchers admits she can only do with a little help from her second through fifth graders.

Although she calls each grade individually, she does get some help from students in the summer camp program at Springs Creek Elementary and reminds parents to bring the kids out.

“They come and pass out books with us and they spend a day with us in the summer, it’s not very often that kids get to see each other or the teachers during the summer,” Borchers said.

She reminds kids to wear sunscreen and meet her at Rosemary Drive and Old 41 on parade day at 8:30 a.m. to receive a bag with books to hand out.

“I thought that if we passed out books it would remind our parents of the importance of reading,” she said. “Keeping the focus on reading during the summer was one of my key ideas.”