Books Are Gems

Program Overview

FREE, In-Person and Virtual Story Time every Saturday @ 10:30 am by Books are Gems

Every Operational Day, We give free books to all children from toddler to high school. Every child that visits our bookstore gets one new book and 6 gently used books, no questions asked. We also give out 2 to 3 story books to families for virtual story time every Saturday. Teachers also get 25 free books and unlimited teacher resources for their classrooms.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Books are Gems made a difference in my life, as a young third grader, I couldn't read, the founder, Ms. Paula Madrilles already had her nonprofit and was also a teacher at my school. She took me aside and asked if I wanted to learn to read, when I said yes, the process started. She gave me free books and helped me learn to read, I became an avid reader and was very proud of the fact that I owned books. My family was very poor and could not afford to buy books and the public library was too far to travel by foot as we did not own a car.

I learned to read and graduated high school with honors, I enrolled in college and was the first in my family to hold a college education, however, I didn't stop there. I enrolled in law school and was the valedictorian of my class. I was hired by one of the most prestigious law firms in my home town of El Paso, TX.

Books are Gems made a difference in my life and my families life. I intend to pay it forward and am now the Vice president of Books are Gems. I know we together with Books are Gems can make a difference in many children's lives.