BookSmart Community Advantage donated one book for every child in third grade

Photo by Marty Cheek
BookSmart co-owner Cinda Meister in front of the bookstore displaying the Find Waldo Local scavenger hunt game in which participants visit various businesses to find the character dressed in his blue pants and red and white striped shirt.

By Cheri Brown

Cheri Brown

After years of decline, indie bookstores are seeing a renaissance.  Between 2009 and 2022 the number of independent bookstores increased from 1,401 to 2,023, according to Statista.com. Morgan Hill’s own indie bookstore BookSmart has been a part of the community since 1995. BookSmart, owned by Cinda Meister and Brad Jones is in the Vineyard Town Center near Nob Hill Foods.

“Bookstores are on the upswing because people want to engage with other readers, both staff and other customers who love books,” Brad told me. “The sense of discovery in a bookstore is very different than purchasing online. People want to touch and feel what they are buying before they buy it.”

BookSmart promotes local authors. They also have a nonprofit arm that is focused on promoting reading in the community. BookSmart Community Advantage is under the umbrella of nonprofits with Morgan Hill Community Foundation. Through their customers’ philanthropy, BookSmart Community Advantage is able to promote literacy in Morgan Hill.

One program is “Stop the Summer Slide,” a program to keep children learning during the summer and prevent the annual reversal of their education. This year BookSmart Community Advantage donated one book for every child in third grade in three different schools, regardless of their income. El Toro, Barrett and PA Walsh were the 2023 beneficiaries.

The “Gift of Reading” is a holiday book drive. People donate new and like new books or funds for books and they are distributed through the Morgan Hill Unified School District. They do this with the manpower of AAUW and Friends of the Morgan Hill Library who sort and collect the books. BookSmart Community Advantage is actively seeking volunteers for the Morgan Hill Drive this fall and organizations in Gilroy to expand the program.

Another program is the annual “Find Waldo Local” scavenger hunt. The goal is to connect families to the community and promote the love of reading. To participate game, download the passport at www.morganhillchamber.org. After visiting each of the participating businesses on the passport, drop the completed form off at BookSmart by July 31.

Join the festivities at the Wrap Party at 11a.m. Aug. 5 in front of BookSmart. Prizes are donated by each of the businesses and winners will be drawn at the wrap including one Chauffer Champion prize of a $100 BookSmart gift card for a person who chauffeured a child who completed the form.

Brad and Cinda welcome you and your family to visit BookSmart, whether it is to meet a local author, participate in Where’s Waldo or find the perfect summer read. They are located at 421 Vineyard Town Center, Morgan Hill open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at (408) 779-6467 or [email protected].

Cheri Brown is a board member of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. She writes articles on behalf of the Chamber highlighting a few of the hundreds of Chamber members. She owns her own independent insurance brokerage, selling Medicare insurance policies. She can be reached at [email protected].