Goodwill Suncoast’s BookWorks program in collaboration with the Villages Evening Rotary Club successfully delivered more than 2,800 books to six Title One schools in Marion County.
This initiative aims to provide children and youth with quality reading materials and promote literacy in underserved communities. Goodwill receives donations of both new and used books from a variety of sources.
Hadee Castro, MA, CVA, Youth Development Programs Manager highlighted efforts of the Villager volunteers at the Oxford location who meticulously clean and refurbish the used books making the used books look almost new. However, the key challenge was the timely delivery of the new and refurbished books to their intended recipients.
The Villages Evening Rotarians stepped up to address the challenge by offering to deliver the books where needed.
“Over the past three years we have delivered thousands each fall and spring,” said Kim Grassi, service rrojects chair of the Village of Largo.
This past week, 2,800 books were delivered to East Marion Elementary, Wyomina Elementary, Fordham Elementary, Emerald Shores Elementary and Stanton Weirsdale Elementary schools.
Club President Kat Sizemore of the Village of Pine Hills, said “the staff of Wyomina Park Elementary were thrilled to get the 610 books” delivered by her and new member, Aaron Spechler, Village of Osceola.
Recently, the Evening Rotarians suggested to Castro to add Hope Lake Weir Food Pantry to the locations receiving books. Over 150 families are served by this pantry each Thursday and these are people with no easy access to a library. Every week they are looking to see what books are available. “This collaboration between BookWorks and our friends from Villages Evening Rotary Club is instrumental in making the joy of reading very accessible to our families. We get to see the excitement at the book table every week,” said Director Linda Schuettler of the Village of Tamarind Grove.
You can learn more about BookWorks by emailing Hadee Castro at Haydee.Castro@goodwill-suncoast.com
Visit www.RotaryVillagesEvening.com about the volunteer work and projects of Evening Rotarians
