Lyd's Kids Aims for 2,000 Book Donations

The Fargo nonprofit is collecting books for children this holiday season through a partnership with Barnes & Noble.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Philanthropy

Photograph of a low stack of colorful cloth-bound children's books with blank spines on a wooden table beside a winter window. — Lyd's Kids, a Fargo nonprofit founded by librarian Lydia Faulkner, is seeking 2,000 book donations this holiday season through Barnes & Noble checkout. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you donate books or volunteer to help local children this holiday season?

Lyd's Kids, a Fargo nonprofit founded by Ed Clapp Elementary librarian Lydia Faulkner, is aiming to collect 2,000 books for children this holiday season. Customers can buy books or make monetary donations at Barnes & Noble checkout.

Why it matters

The effort aims to ensure children from infancy through age 18 have books at home, a need that began with two boys who had none over Christmas break. The campaign reflects a local, volunteer-driven approach to childhood literacy in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Lyd's Kids is targeting 2,000 donated books this holiday season, up from an initial 2018 goal of roughly 500 books. The organization serves children from infancy through age 18, and it has not yet reported how many books have been collected.

The players

Lydia Faulkner

Faulkner is a librarian at Ed Clapp Elementary School in Fargo who founded Lyd's Kids after hearing students describe having no books at home.

Lyd's Kids

Lyd's Kids is a Fargo-based nonprofit that distributes books to children from infancy through age 18 and works with local schools, hospitals and social service agencies.

The details

Books are selected for individual children based on age and grouped by family, with Barnes & Noble staff choosing titles that match the amount donated at checkout. The organization also needs volunteers to sort and wrap donated books.

2018: Faulkner began collecting books after overhearing students say they had none at home.
This holiday season: Lyd's Kids aims to collect 2,000 books.

Philanthropy Pattern

Lyd's Kids works alongside Head Start, an established federal early-childhood program, extending its reach into children's homes through a volunteer-run book distribution model. The partnership places a local nonprofit within a national framework of early childhood support.

Shoppers at Barnes & Noble in Fargo can add a book purchase or a monetary donation at checkout to help the campaign. Volunteers are also needed to sort and wrap donated books.

The takeaway

A small, local effort that started with one teacher's observation has grown into a campaign to put books in children's hands, showing how everyday purchases can support community literacy.