Temple University police officers help North Philly bookstore restock

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A North Philadelphia bookstore, still recovering from a devastating loss, got a special donation on Wednesday.

Temple University police officers surprised Tree House Books, which has been trying to rebuild after they lost thousands of books on Christmas Day.

They pulled up to the literacy hub on Susquehanna Avenue with this surprise: a truck loaded up with more than 2,000 children's books.

The officers said when the department found out about the water damage that occurred, they really wanted to help.

They acquired the books through a donation from Toys for Tots.

Back on Christmas Day, a piping issue in an upstairs apartment sent water pouring down into the bookstore, destroying thousands of books. Slowly, they've been repairing the ceiling and restocking their shelves.

"We just reopened the library last week," said Lee Roberts. "Their donation is definitely going to impact filling up the library and making it a safe space for students again."

Tree House Books is a giving library. It was founded back in 2005 as a place to provide free books to children and families and a space to foster and support literacy skills.

"A lot of the libraries around the city are closing," Roberts said. "The Cecil B. Moore Library is closed, and a lot of libraries around the city are short-staffed and short-funded.

With literacy race rates decreasing, it's more important than ever to have libraries, to have books for students, and a safe space where they can come and engage with literature. We want them to engage with books and make reading fun again."

Tree House Books is always accepting donations.

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