Clarke Central High School has provided boxes throughout the school for book donations benefitting Books for Keeps. Senior Amelia Goodwin brought the book drive to CCHS. “So far we haven’t gotten many (books), but I would like 1,000. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but that’s my goal,” Goodwin said. Photo by Elena Gilbertson Hall.
Clarke Central High School is hosting a book drive during the month of October for Books for Keeps.
During Books for Keeps’ official donation month of October, Clarke Central High School is holding a book drive to benefit the organization.
Children from low-income families are disproportionately affected by (learning loss over the summer), often due to a simple lack of access to books.
“Books for Keeps’ primary program is a research-based effort to end ‘summer slide’, the learning loss suffered by many children when they are away from school. Children from low-income families are disproportionately affected by this loss, often due to a simple lack of access to books,” the Books for Keeps website states.
The drive at CCHS was initiated by senior Amelia Goodwin. Advisement classes are competing to see who can collect the most books and the winning class will be awarded a prize at the end of the month.
“I have put posters and donation boxes all around the school and I sent it out in the announcements,” Goodwin said. “I was hoping the competition would encourage people to donate because there was an incentive for it.”
Physical education teacher Justin Jones has not yet received any book donations but hopes students will participate in the book collection.
Donating books is important because books are a way to pass on knowledge. And I know competition always drives and brings out the best in kids.
— JUSTIN JONES,
physical education teacher
“Donating books is important because books are a way to pass on knowledge. And I know competition always drives and brings out the best in kids,” Jones said.
CCHS sophomore Aiden Reichner feels that the drive could have better been promoted in a different way.
“I feel like if literature teachers were like, ‘hey bring all the books you don’t read any more tomorrow.’ And (the teachers) motivated you to do it and made it a bigger deal, I probably would have (brought books),” Reichner said.
At the end of October, Books for Keeps will collect the donated books and distribute them to elementary schools throughout the Clarke County School District.
“Books for Keeps bridges the (reading) gap by giving (elementary students) books — high-quality, exciting books with contemporary titles,” according to the Books for Keeps website. “It’s a strategy proven to have a similar impact to attending summer school, but at a fraction of the cost.”
Goodwin hopes the drive will benefit students in the CCSD.
“Not only is it great to read, but you can go up two reading levels just by reading over the summer,” Goodwin said. “I just thought it would be a good, relatively easy thing to put together that would help people.”
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