Students in local elementary schools, including one that got hit by the March 31 tornado, will have new books to take home thanks to UCA Students for the Propagation of Black Culture’s Elementary School Book Drive.
SPBC’s Treasurer and Community Service Chair, junior Jorden Moody, came up with the idea of a book drive after learning that a majority of elementary school teachers have to buy books for their class libraries themselves.
As an elementary education major and aspiring teacher, Moody immediately knew she wanted to help.
“I thought we could really just gather the books and help them,” Moody said.
SPBC is donating the books to Seventh Street Elementary in North Little Rock and Theodore Jones Elementary in Conway.
A tornado hit Seventh Street Elementary in March and the school has since gone through major administrative changes — including changes to class size and curriculum.
Because of this, teachers are struggling to buy the books and textbooks that they need in class.
Moody said Seventh Street Elementary and Theodore Jones are each struggling to keep reading material for students and are excited about the book drive.
“They don’t have the materials they need for the students,” she said. “I wanted to gather the books and donate them to those schools. When I talked to the dean of the College of Education, he said it was a good idea.”
Moody brought up the idea of the book drive to the SPBC community service committee that was in the middle of brainstorming ideas for a September charity event. The committee loved the idea of doing something unique and helping students in surrounding areas.
Kortni Jones, a sophomore nursing major and member of SPBC, said she was excited about the book drive because she wanted more students to have the opportunity to pick up a book and read.
“Being able to read at a young age is a big thing and having that education is very important,” Jones said. “I want to get books in schools because not all kids and parents are able to afford them back home.”
Donation boxes were at the Office of Diversity and Community in Bernard Hall, Win Thompson Hall, Mashburn Hall and in the Office of Student Life in the Ronnie Williams Student Center.
The boxes were decorated in bright blue wrapping paper with designs of pencils, smiley faces and apples drawn on them.
Students who donated to the drive could earn one hour of community service for every five books donated, but it wasn’t just students who were filling the boxes with books.
“There have been some local daycares contacting me saying they have some old books they can donate and that’s really nice,” Moody said.
On Monday and Tuesday, Mashburn Hall hosted the Usborne Book Fair. This gave students a convenient opportunity to buy books and drop them off at the donation box in Mashburn.
“People are going in and buying the books and dropping them right into the box,” Moody said. “The box is already full.”
SPBC’s goal was to have 100 books donated. This way, the schools could each get 50 books. The drive surpassed the original goal twofold, with over 200 books collected by the end of the week. Moody says the book drive is just the beginning of what the organization hopes to do to help students in the future.
“We really want to make a difference in our state. Helping students in Little Rock and the surrounding areas is a start,” Moody said.
