Westgate business owner Adam Taylor, from The Classroom, is aiming to hand out 10,000 free books to schoolchildren on World Book Day next March.
The business, in Station Road, is closing at the start of December when the lease expires but Adam says he is determined to carry on with his annual World Book Day giveaway.
Adam, who has a background of more than 24 years in education, says the aim is simply to ‘make a difference.’
Last year the dad-of-two initially set a target of visiting 16 schools and handing out 4,000 books but this eventually expanded to more than 7,500 books given to children in 23 schools across Thanet and beyond.
For next year Adam has set a target of 10,000 books and hopes to raise £1000 to cover the costs.
He said: “We were named Kent’s Best Bookshop in the Muddy Stilettos awards, and were Highly Commended in both the BBC Radio Kent Make A Difference Awards and the Kent Mental Well-being Awards, mainly due to our World Book Day antics.
“Giving the World Book Day Books to the children in their schools was one of the best things we did for our community.
“We need help to buy the books next year. We aim to raise £1000 to buy 10,000 books for the children in our primary schools using a Crowdfunder. We have to order the books by 31st October.
“There are around 400,000 children in the UK who do not own a book, that equates to one in 30 children so around one child in every class.
“Book tokens are handed out (for World Book Day) but many will be found in the bottom of a school bag or blowing around the playground, only a quarter get used and in Thanet, a deprived area, many are not used.
“Going to schools to hand out books, means they go right into the child’s hands.”
