Suburban Pest Control is proud to announce the success of its holiday book drive through its community outreach initiative, Suburban Cares, partnering with the Junior League of Central Westchester and benefiting the local Head Start program serving under-resourced children ages 3-4 throughout Central Westchester.
The drive collected 117 new children’s books, which will be placed directly into more than ten (10) Head Start classrooms. Volunteer readers visit these classrooms to read aloud to groups of approximately twenty (20) preschoolers, many from low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness. After each reading session, the book remains in the classroom, creating a growing library that supports early literacy and a love of learning.
For many of these children, the simple act of holding a new book of their own is more than a gift, it’s a moment of joy, imagination, and connection.
Tess Cerra, a longtime Junior League of Central Westchester volunteer and reader, noted, “Many of these children don’t have books to read at home. When we give them a book to keep, their eyes light up and that is what keeps me and the other volunteers invested in this program.”
Suburban Pest Control invited team members and key vendor partners to participate in the initiative, and the response was immediate. Contributions from Catch Master Pro, Veseris, and Enterprise Fleet Management played a significant role in reaching the 117-book milestone.
Through Suburban Cares, the company focuses its philanthropic efforts on initiatives that directly impact families and children in the communities it serves. The holiday book drive reflects Suburban Pest Control’s broader commitment to protecting not just homes and businesses, but the well-being of the neighborhoods they call home.
“We’re in people’s homes every single day,” said Ken Unger, owner of Suburban Pest Control. “We see firsthand how hard families are working to build a better life for their children. When we learned that many of these preschoolers don’t even have books at home, we knew this was something we could step up and support. One hundred and seventeen books may sound like a number, but to these kids, that’s 117 new opportunities to imagine, to learn, and to feel seen.”
The donated books will continue circulating throughout Head Start classrooms, supporting literacy development during a critical stage of early childhood education and bringing meaningful moments of joy to some of Westchester’s most vulnerable young learners.
