PODS® Of Chicago “Stack The Books” Literacy Drive Exceeds Book Collection Goals

CHICAGO - Oct. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- PODS^® of Chicago, a moving and storage company, which teamed up with Great Lakes Credit Union to help collect donated books during a four-week “Stack the Books Drive” for Open Books, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides community programs and a bookstore to promote literacy for grades K – 12, exceeded its book donation goals.

“This ‘Stack for Books’ Drive was definitely the biggest drive we have done this year,” said Dustin Walsh, Stack the Books coordinator for Open Books. “A lot of Chicago public schools don’t have books available for kids to read, so this helps get books back to those Chicago public schools.”

The PODS container used to collect the books began accepting donations at Great Lakes Credit Union locations in Antioch, Waukegan, Naperville, and Country Club Hills. WLS radio also ran on-air promotions about the drive. Donations were then unloaded at the Open Books warehouse in Chicago. The books will be sold at the Open Books store on 213 W. Institute Place in Chicago, as well as online. Proceeds support the charity’s literacy programs.

PODS^® containers served as collection points for citizens to drop off new or used books, with a reached goal to collect more than 1,000 books. Once the drive was completed, PODS transported the donations to Open Books, helping save the charity thousands of dollars in moving and storage logistics.

“At PODS, we make it our priority to give back to the community and want to influence others to do the same. The partnership with Great Lakes Credit Union will help us collect enough books to increase learning in students,” said Brett Schnitzius, Regional Director for PODS of Chicago. “We are proud to be providing our moving and storage services so that every young person can improve their reading skills.”

For more information about the literacy book drive, visit the PODS of Chicago Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PODSChicago .

About PODS Enterprises, Inc.

Founded in 1998, PODS currently provides moving and storage services to a population of more than 250 million consumers and businesses, in 46 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the UK, through its company-owned and independent franchise network. To date, the PODS network has completed more than 400,000 long-distance relocations, exceeded 2.0 million deliveries and has over 145,000 PODS^® containers in service.

About Great Lakes Union Credit Union

In 1938, Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU) was organized by William E. Elliott, President of Local 167 - National Federation of Federal Employees, with an uncomplicated concept: to create a financial institution which put the best interests of the members first, allowing civil servants to borrow money at reasonable rates, and have a safe place to save for the future. When GLCU was established, there was no financial institution in the local area. Today, GLCU carries on the tradition of developing those innovative products and services often saving money with low interest rate loans, high dividend checking and lower service fees than most competing financial institutions.

About Open Books Ltd.

Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs, and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago and beyond.

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