BOOK
DONATION • Red Cliffs Elementry School
received over 1,600 books last week from the
Worldwide Book Drive
By Rebecca Dopp
Times-News Correspondent
If you have over 1,600 books,
donated by ordinary people, and there are 552 students
who will receive those books, how many books will each
student receive? Answer: three each.
And what will those students
get out of all those books? Gratitude to those who gave
them the books, of course, but also, hopefully, a love of
reading and a chance to go places they've never been
before, just by turning a page.
On Wednesday, February 9,
students at Red Cliffs Elementary gathered in the
school's lunchroom to hear about a wonderful gift they
were all going to receive.
John and Lenita Keller and
Jaron Brown, representing the Worldwide Book Drive,
announced to the studentbody that because of the
generosity of others, Red Cliffs Elementary would receive
approximately 1,676 gently used books to be distributed
throughout the school.
During this assembly, Mrs.
Keller gave a taste of what each child would receive by
reading "Froggy's First Kiss", a Valentine's Day inspired
tale of having a crush and giving a Valentine to that
special someone. It got a few "ewws" and "yucks", mainly
from the male students, but overall was
well-received.
Originally, RCE Principal
Janet Ware thought they were only going to receive 1,104
books, but at the last minute, more books were donated to
the cause.
"We are very, very excited
about what's happening today," exclaimed Ware as she was
being interviewed by Channel 4 News who not only covered
this special event, but also was a sponsor through their
Books For Utah Kids Drive. They partnered with Deseret
Book and Clear Channel Radio in this effort.
She said that there were some
students who did not have access to books in their homes,
and this was a great opportunity for them.
This effort was started six
months ago by RCE Parent/Teacher Organization President
Britanni Taylor who felt there was a need in the school
for more books.
"I made some phone calls,
contacted Deseret Book, and they contacted Worldwide Book
Drive, and here we are," she said.
Worldwide Book Drive collects
new and used books of all types: textbooks, novels,
religious books, children's books, journals, and even
magazines and phonebooks. Donations come from several
different sources such as residents and
schools.
The items are sorted through
and then distributed to benefit schools, libraries, and
domestic and international charities. Mr. Brown said they
had taken donations to such countries as Peru and
Guatemala.
Most of the books are made
available for donation, but some are sold as revenue to
help pay for the overhead costs and further growth.
Outdated or severely damaged books are
recycled.
Worldwide Book Drive is a
social venture utilizing volunteers and some paid staff.
They are based in Orem. For more information go to
worldwidebookdrive.org.
