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Book drive promotes lifelong love of reading

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Call the Communications Office at (518) 695-3255, ext. 1245 for more information on this story.

february 22, 2010

Reading is alive and well at Schuylerville Elementary School…and so is the spirit of giving as students prepare for this year’s Book Drive. From February 22 to March 3, 2010, students will be collecting books to give away to their peers and to children in the community. The giveaway will coincide with the Scholastic Book Fair (March 11-16, 2010), which is organized by the Elementary School’s parent group, PEP.

Last year’s Book Drive was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of students and parent volunteers, including parent Rae Lynn Gonyea. After organizing Schuylerville Elementary School’s book fairs for a number of years, Gonyea noticed a decrease in the numbers of students purchasing books. She made some inquiries and found that it was an affordability issue. When PEP volunteers—and students—heard this, they jumped into action.

“We want reading materials to be available to all children,” Gonyea explained. “So, we worked with students to conduct a book drive.”

The student volunteers created and distributed flyers asking for donations. Boxes were placed in each classroom and a popcorn party was offered as additional incentive for the class collecting the most books. The response was overwhelming! After just one week, the student and parent volunteers were inundated with more than 2,200 book donations. They spent countless hours sorting the books according to type and reading level; the books ranged from those that would interest preschoolers to literature for junior high school students. Parents were thrilled that they could not only purchase books at the Scholastic Book Fair, but take home free reading material, as well. All of the left-over books were donated to local nursery schools and to the Schuylerville Food Pantry for its Bright Red Bookshelf program.

Gonyea and Schuylerville’s student volunteers are hoping for just as much success with this year’s Book Drive. “We’re again asking for the generosity of our families in making donations of used, well-loved books that they may no longer be reading. Our goal is to ensure that every child has a book to call their own and for the love of reading to be a lifelong pursuit,” Gonyea said.

The class that collects the most books this year receives a movie party with refreshments and snacks.