Webster book drive seeks 300 children's books before Halloween

Bay Area Service League wants 300 children's books on its shelves by Friday, Oct. 30, and it needs neighbors to help get them there.

The Webster-based nonprofit's Literacy for Life program launched a three-week book drive on Monday, Oct. 12, according to the league's website. The goal: collect 300 new or gently used children's books by Oct. 30, when they will be handed out at a Halloween Trunk or Treat event. Last year, the group distributed more than 300 books at the same event.

Donors can drop off books at the Bay Area Service League Resale Shop, 100 E. NASA Parkway, Suite 80, in Webster. The shop is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The phone number is 281-554-2594.

The league is accepting baby board books, easy readers, classics like Charlotte's Web, chapter books like the Percy Jackson series, graphic novels and books in Spanish. All donations must be new or gently used with no "discarded" markings or writing inside.

One note for donors: do not place books in the Little Free Library outside the resale shop. Those books are set aside for a separate purpose.

The league's announcement, written by Lisa Holbrook, said the drive uses a pumpkin-patch tracker to chart progress. Each pumpkin colored in represents 10 books donated.

Bay Area Service League is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose members contributed more than 33,000 volunteer hours in the 2025–2026 year, valued at more than $1.2 million serving the Houston-Galveston Bay Area community. Donations to the organization are tax-deductible. In September, the league's Literacy for Life program distributed brand-new books to La Porte ISD students at a Back-to-School Bash, supported by a $4,000 donation from Barnes & Noble Baybrook.

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