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Events &News

Book Drop Locations

Join our mission to fill homes & hands with books!

Livonia Athletic District

Everyday 6am-12midnight

14255 Stark Rd • Livonia, MI 48154

Making Spirits Bright

Fall Hours

October 7th 9a-1130a

October 10th 9a-11a

October 21st 9a-1130a

October 24th 9a-11a

October 28th 9a-1130a

November 4th 9a-1130a

November 8th 1p-3p

November 14th 9a-11a

November 18th 9a-1130a

November 25th 9a-1130a

December 2nd 9a-1130a

December 16th 9a-1130a

28580 Orchard Lake Rd • Ste 210 • Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Host a Book Drive

Organization News

Featured on CBS News Detroit
August 2025
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Featured on ABC News
December 2025
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Featured on Fox 2 Detroit News
December 2025
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Featured on CBS News Detroit
September 12, 2024
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Featured on Fox 2 Detroit News
March 14, 2024
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Featured on Fox News Detroit
March 2024
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MSB now offers Free Book Fairs!!
January, 2024
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Featured on CBS News Detroit
December 22, 2023
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Featured in Livingston Daily
December 17, 2023
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Event Gallery

We’d be lost without our volunteers helping us move, count and sort books.

Because of our devoted volunteers the majority of the 30,000 books we were gifted by the Junior Library Guild have made their way from storage to our headquarters this month. Boy Scout troop 308 lent a hand and transported 5,000 of these books!

This month we piloted our new program MSB Daycare Drop Off at Greater Ebenezer Child Care Center. MSB dropped off a new book tote bag for every child prefilled with 727 age appropriate books to take home. Daycare centers who provide care in underserved communities to those receiving free or subsidized childcare will be targeted for this new program.

Books, books, books!! Our headquarters has been filled with 10s of 1000s of books collected at book drives for MSB. The Livonia Education Association hosted book drives at their schools and brought in over 8000 books! South Lyon's key club collected over 5000 books! Blown away by these book drives is an understatement. And thousands more books from Pembroke Elementary, Walled Lake Northern, Bloomfield High School, St Regis School, Bingham Farms, Walled Lake Early Education Center and Our Lady of Good Council. In addition to schools, we've had local businesses hosting book drives. We are grateful to DOBI Realtor, Coley, Baron, Tonda, Metzger and Julip Law, The Detroit Athletic Club and Biggby Coffee. And I can't forget about our local Friends of the Library. Over 3000 books were donated by Hartland, Plymouth, Walled Lake and Westland.

Rocket Mortgage's volunteer program provides MSB with volunteers at our events in Detroit. They joined us at All Things Women's new location and revamped and stocked their residents library with hundreds of books. And joined us to lend a helping hand at successful MSB At Home Library event gifting almost 300 books at Brilliant Detroit's Russelwoods and Littlefield hubs. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

MSB visited Lincoln Elementary in Warren and gifted over 2000 books at a Free Book Fair! Every student self-selected 5 books and a new book tote bag.

MSB has been busy gifting books at Free Book Fairs in Hamtramck! We visited Holbrook Elementary and Dickinson East Elementary and provided over 5000 free books. Every student self-selected 5 books and a new book tote bag.

Another successful MSB At Home Library event gifting 300 books at Brilliant Detroit's Brightmoor hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

We've had such a busy winter at MSB! So many volunteers and book drives!! Hundreds of hours and thousands of books! Thank you Catholic Central High School, Ford Motor Group, Novi Christian School, Cub Scout Pack 121, Round Elementary's Girl Scout Troop 40554, Wayne State Track & Field, Keith Elementary, Meadowbrooke Elementary, Walled Lake United Methodist Church, Stuck Gymnastics, Food & Family, Rising Star Academy and Huntington Bank!

Making Spirits Bright visited and provided a MSB Free Book Fair gifting 2393 books to Beacon Elementary in Harper Woods. Every student self-selected 5 books and a new book tote bag.

Making Spirits Bright is excited about our new community partner. Detroit Parent Network is dedicated to engaging, equipping and empowering parents as champions for children and change. We had our first delivery of 389 books to them for their Powerful Parents Holiday Breakfast.

Another successful MSB At Home Library event at Brilliant Detroit's Martin Park hub. Thirty eight families attended and each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

MSB had our first Open House!!! We invited every donor, sponsor and volunteer to come into our headquarters and EXPERIENCE what we do for the children and families in Detroit and the Metro! They traveled through our MSB Path of Impact, stopping at stations and learning the steps a book goes though, from donation, to sorting, recycling, and all the ways we distribute books.

MSB visited Barber Preparatory Academy in Highland Park and provided a Free Book Fair! Every student self selected 5 books and a new book tote bag.

We have some good momentum with fundraising! Maria has been hard at work writing grants and we received $10,000 from the Towsley Foundation!! The donations continue to come in, including $2,500 gifted to MSB from Miriam Laundry Publishing. And two successful fundraisers this fall at Bigbby Coffee in Commerce Twp, that raised $254, and a Dine to Donate event at Casey's of Walled Lake that brought in $369.
These funds are being put to work getting books into the hands of children and families.

Another successful MSB At Home Library event at Brilliant Detroit's South West hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

Vandenberg Elementary in South Redford received a free MSB Book Fair. Over 2000 books were given, with each child self selecting five books and new book tote bag. After the students finished shopping the Media Center Technician chose many books to add to the school's library.

We couldn't do it without our volunteers. Team members from Ford Motor Company and Blue Cross Blue Shield and local National Honor Societies continue to volunteer frequently at our headquarters, sorting books. Several of our local Walled Lake School Board members also gave us their time and muscle this fall. And we are grateful with our partnership with Rocket Mortgage, whose team members volunteer at our At Home Library events in Detroit at Brilliant Detroit hubs.

MSB visited Mann Elementary in Detroit and provided a Free Book Fair. Over 2300 books were gifted with every student self selecting 5 books and a new book tote bag.

MSB is beyond grateful to all the amazing people who hosted book drives this fall! With the help from Wylie Elementary, Girl Scout Troop 112, Carhardt, Forest Elementary, OPEIU 494 Union, Orchard Grove Church, Faith Community Church and Kyndrl, we received more than 20,000 books that went directly into the hands of children at MSB's Free Book Fairs!

MSB participated at the Palmer Park Preparatory Academy's Stem Fest Night! We gifted over 800 stem related books to their students.

MSB returned to Daly Elementary School in Inkster and provided another Free Book Fair! Every student self-selected 5 books and a new book tote bag.

MSB attended a Fleece and Thank You blanket making event. They are a non-profit organization that gives blankets to children in hospitals. We were onsite to help and gift books to all of the children there.

Dixon Elementary in Detroit had a MSB Free Book Fair. Every student self-selected 5 books and a new book fair tote bag. We are blown away by feedback we received.

"Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much for investing in our students! Your organization clearly demonstrated the importance of reading. You went over and above supplying a variety of materials that our students were super excited about and actually had a hard time choosing what they wanted to read! That was a phenomenal task. Thank you again and you are always welcome to Dixon, just give me a time and we will make the space. Thanks a billion times!" - Mrs. Yolanda Smith, Assistant Principal, Dixon Educational Learning Academy

Another successful MSB At Home Library event at Brilliant Detroit's Central hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

MSB's first Free Book Fair of the 2024/2025 school year! We visited Dickinson West Elementary in Hamtramck, and gifted 5 books and a new book tote to each child.

Making Spirits Bright has been so fortunate and we have received a $2500 donation from a very kind human, who wishes to remain anonymous, you know who you are and we are beyond grateful for your generosity! Thanks to you, we were able to purchase a new to us trailer! We can now move over 5000 books at time!

Over 3000 books were gifted to teachers during our Fall giveaway event. We invite all Title 1, new and new to grade level teachers to our headquarters to shop for books for their classroom libraries. We encourage them to fill a box or small suitcase.

Another successful MSB At Home Library event at Brilliant Detroit's Grixdale hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

We get so excited and are so grateful when we receive new books!

We received 500 brand new books from the 313Reads! Literacy Coalition- Books in the D program! The project was able to distribute 94,000 new books into the hands and hearts of readers in Detroit and SE Michigan!

We are proud members of the Diverse Books Coalition. This group meets quarterly to brainstorm ways we can get our hands on MORE books that represent the communities we are serving. In August, MSB was given over 300 new books from this organization.

Another successful MSB At Home Library event at Brilliant Detroit's Cody-Rouge hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

At Making Spirits Bright we are still learning how to raise money for our programming. This summer we participated at the Farmington Book & Author Festival as well as the Detroit Book Fest! We sold some of the adult titles that were donated to us throughout the year and will use the proceeds to purchase the book tote bags that children receive to take their books home in at MSB Free Book Fairs.

We provided an MSB At Home Library event to Brilliant Detroit's Littlefield hub. Each child painted and decorated their own mini-library to take home. They each self-selected 15 books to fill their new home library.

We are so excited about our newest community partner, Detroit PAL! They work with the Detroit Police Department to help youth find their greatness through athletic, academic, and leadership development programs. We teamed up for their Opening Day Event and distributed books to the children participating!

MSB was so appreciative to be the recipient of the proceeds from Walled Lake Elementary Penny Wars and the Walled Lake vs Hickory Woods Elementary Charity Volleyball Game! The $2,811 will allow us to buy totebags for more than 3,500 children to take books home in.

We have been receiving so many book donations!

A bittersweet set of donations have been coming in from teachers retiring.

The Dublin Elementary Girl Scouts Troop hosted a dynamite book drive that brought in over 7000 books!

The Faith Community Center, in Bellville, hosted a drive for us along with Grant Elementary surprising us with a book drive bringing in just over 5000 books and we had over 3000 books donated by individuals that heard about us through word of mouth.

Chick-Fil-A at Twelve Oaks Mall hosted a book drive for us too! They also gave out free ice cream in exchange for book donations!!!

Saint James Church in Novi hosted an amazing drive in May and donated thousands of books to Making Spirits Bright!

And the Livonia JBF sale donated their leftover books to us (993 to be exact!)

Jefferson Elementary in South Redford was gifted 1473 books at a MSB Free Book Fair. Check out the feedback we received.

"I wanted to thank you for the wonderful book fair. Nothing but good words and smiles were exchanged throughout the day. The dedication of the volunteers finding books that kids expressed interest in was more than I could have ever expected. I was absolutely blown away." - Jaimie Turco, Reading Interventionist

Ford Motor Company and Blue Cross Blue Shield's volunteer programs have found MSB. Thank you for all of the dedicated volunteers that have been donating their time sorting and preparing books for distribution.

Making Spirits Bright hosted our first Teacher's Shopping Event for new and Title 1 teachers! Over 20 teachers came to MSB's space and selected over 5000 books for their classroom libraries.

Through our partnership with Westwood school district in Inkster we were able to provide 2909 books to Thorne Elementary. Every student will receive 4 books each to take home to read over the summer and the children attending their summer school will receive even more books.

MSB's first middle school book fair was a huge success! Over 600 students at Pierce middle school self selected 5 books and a new book tote! So much joy seeing teenagers excited about books!

MSB gifted almost 2000 books at Fisher Elementary. Every student self selected five books and a book tote bag to take home.

Another successful Free Making Spirits Bright Book Fair! MSB distributed over 1500 books to the students at Schofield Elementary in Warren. Each child self selected five books and book tote bag to take home.

A big THANK YOU to our newest sponsors!!! MSB was so excited to be the recipient of generous donations from FOX Buick GMC, Andiamo Detroit Riverfront and Hattaras Printing. And we are so grateful to 2 Dandelions Book Store in Brighton for donating a dollar every time they sold a children's book in March! We were able to purchase 2000 books totes for children to take their books home from our MSB Free Book Fairs!

We debuted our MSB At Home Library Program at Brilliant Detroit's Dexter-Linwood Hub. We put on a story time and shared tips with the parents to engage their kids in reading. The children painted and decorated their own mini-libraries to take home and self-selected 15 new books each to fill them.

MSB gifted 996 books to New Haven Elementary to distribute at their "Reading is Sweet" event.

Project Excel is helping students in Pontiac develop interpersonal skills and leadership abilities, while achieving academic success. MSB was on site at their March event and gifted 240 books to these kids!

We are so excited to have schools collecting books for MSB for March is Reading Month! Way to go Hickory Woods, Loon Lake and Walled Lake elementary schools!!!

Polk Elementary's Reading Ranger was gifted 1164 books! She will be giving her students five books each throughout the month of March!

MSB had a very busy day today, delivering books to schools! Detroit Prep received 260 books today. And Pardee Elementary was gifted 1140 books, to send home with their students to celebrate March is reading month!

We distributed 2000 books at a MSB Free Book Fair at Alcott Elementary in Pontiac. Every child self-selected 5 books and a book tote to take home to start their home libraries. Then the teachers came in and filled boxes to add to their classroom libraries.

With help from our partner Two Men and a Truck, Bedford Elementary in Dearborn received 5500 books! Every child will choose 12 books to create a home library so they can keep up on their reading throughout the summer.

We are excited about our new partnership with Kids Kicking Cancer Heroes Circle! MSB will be providing books for their pediatric, oncology patients.

854 Books delivered to Clarenceville Middle School. The reading interventionist is putting these books directly into the hands of her students today!

MSB is so thankful for our volunteers who help us sort and prepare our books for distribution!

MSB gifted 200 specifically themed books to Walled Lake Elementary's ASD classrooms.

UUAA Prison Book Program will be receiving 1000 adult softcover books quarterly from MSB.

Thanks to our MSB Pop-Up Book Sales we have a small space to work, sort and store our books!

We're giving books directly to families by filling the bookshelves and free libraries at 16 Brilliant Detroit community centers and All Things Women.

We're partnering with Words of Hope For Life and have our first MSB Free Library for the community inside The RAIL at 2071 W Maple Rd, Suite E503, Commerce Twp, MI 48390.