HOUSTON (May 1, 2006)—Half Price Books, which is moving its West Houston store to a larger location in the Kirkwood Shopping Center, will host a special book and school supply distribution with Feed The Children Thursday, May 11, at 9 a.m. in the store's parking lot located at 11960 Westheimer Rd. (at Kirkwood Drive). Feed The Children, one of the largest and most efficient relief charities in the country, will provide school supplies for more than 800 children who receive support from Houston Area Homeless Service Agencies. This effort will be coordinated in conjunction with the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, Inc., an agency that serves the needs of the homeless through the coordination of public and private resources.

Volunteers will be on hand to pick up the supplies from the Feed The Children 18-wheeler, which will be on-site for distribution, and Half Price Books will add free books for each child receiving supplies to help foster family literacy. Half Price Books has supported Feed The Children for several years by donating books that accompany food and supply drops all over the world.

"Since opening our first store in Houston in 1979, it's been our priority to provide a unique and affordable shopping experience, but also to serve the community," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president of Half Price Books. "We want to continue doing in Houston what we do in communities nationwide, which is working with local organizations to help promote literacy and protect the environment. That's why we were enthusiastic to partner with Feed The Children to help families in Harris County."

The company currently has two major literacy programs that serve the Houston community: the Half Pint Library program, which provides books to Reach Out and Read Texas through a local book drive each January through March and the "Say Good Night to Illiteracy" storybook project which supports and funds family literacy initiatives.

The new West Houston location will occupy space only a few hundred yards west of the current store, but will offer 600 more square feet of shopping space and new layout. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.