The future teachers are collecting books up until April 19 that they will be donating to school children in the area.

People who have books to donate can drop them off at the Minot Family YMCA, Gate City Bank, Cashwise Grocery, Main Street Books, or Nutrition Addiction in Minot, said Renae Fafard, vice president of the organization.

Last year the group collected about 4,000 books that were either donated to area schools or handed out by Students of North Dakota United during the MSU Homecoming Parade last fall.

Group adviser Chelsie Terez Hultz, an instructor in the department of teacher education and kinesiology, said the book collection effort is a little behind, so they are hoping that more books will be donated.

Submitted Photo Members of Students of North Dakota United hand out donated books from their parade float during the 2018 Fall MSU Homecoming Parade.

Fafard said the students will also collect donated books from a resident’s home if people make prior arrangements. People interested in donating their books can contact Hultz at 858-4239 or email her at Chelsie.Hultz@MinotStateU.edu.

Fafard said books of any type are needed, including children’s books and those for teenagers or adults.

“Our purpose of doing the book drive in the spring is twofold: To help encourage children to read over the summer with good-fit books their teacher selects (and) to hand leftover books out in MSU’s Homecoming parade. Even with over 4,000 books, we ran out of them with several blocks remaining on the float route. We did have candy as a backup,” Hultz said in an email.