On Tuesday, December 12, 2006 the Indianapolis Colts announced a new partnership with the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) for the “Books for Youth” program. Through this program, the Colts and the DCS will provide every foster child in Indiana with their own personal library of 25 books.

On any given day in Marion County alone, more than 1,200 children are in the foster care system and too often they leave their belongings behind when they move.  The Colts and DCS want to change that by helping place 25 age- appropriate books per child into the hands of foster youth and young adults and are asking for community support to make a smart handoff to Indiana’s youth. 

To date, the Colts and DCS have collected more than 360,000 books, thanks to the generosity of our fans across the state!

NOW AVAILABLE! "Buy One, Donate One" Backpack Program The Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Department of Child Services are proud to announce the launch of their "Buy One, Donate One" backpack initiative to support the Books for Youth program. Beginning July 14, a special edition "BLUE" backpack will be available through the Colts Pro Shop. For each backpack that is purchased, the Colts and DCS will donate a backpack filled with 25 age-appropriate books to an Indiana foster child! Visit a Colts Pro Shop location or go online at www.coltsproshoponline.com/Backpack/ to purchase your backpack!

UPCOMING BOOKS FOR YOUTH COLLECTIONS AND EVENTS:

• To find out how you can host a book drive in your community, visit http://www.in.gov/dcs/2342.htm.
• You may also drop off new or gently used books for children of all ages at any Indianapolis Marion County Library branch or Department of Child Services office. For a listing of branch locations, please click here.

 To download the Books for Youth Coloring Pages, click here.

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