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NILES -- Since 2012, retired librarian Ellen Finan of Cortland and other volunteers have worked to get new books to local children in Niles and Warren as part of the Food for the Brain Campaign.
This month, more than 200 books were handed out to children at Niles Royal Mall as Finan and others spent an hour providing a variety of books. Each child could select one book.
Each summer, the group travels to the Warren Family Mission, Highland Terrace, Warren Heights and Packard Park in Warren and Royal Mall in Niles to hand out books to children in need up to age 18.
Finan coordinates the effort with the local food services, providing the books to children when they receive a free lunch over the summer from schools' nutrition programs.
''We decided to come to the biggest sites in the summer and provide them with books. Our goal is to hand out 500 books this summer,'' Finan said.
Making the effort possible is the Warren Kiwanis Club, which provided 100 percent of the coverage for the cost of the books with a $1,000 grant. Finan was able to get the books at a discounted rate.
Children received their bagged lunches and then could go to tables set up at the Warren Family Mission and other sites to select a book. Assisting Finan at one site were volunteers Anna Mae Cushna, Kenya Howard and Nedra Bowen.
Finan said the effort has become known as Food for the Brain. Books on princesses and the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series are very popular, she said. Children's Golden Books also have been popular for years, she said.
Each child also received a nameplate for their book.
Finan said she enjoys seeing the smiles on children's faces when they get a book they can choose and have as their own.