“This is my second book donation, this time I sent the books to Jolly Elementary as I was able to source children’s books. It’s a pleasure to be able to serve children who need these books. As my son grows out of his old books I will keep in mind the need and continue to donate as I am able.”
-Aria-Mahlyna Kimberly
“I decided to donate books such as Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The KiteRunner by Khaled Hosseini, The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, and The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald. These books were given to me by my Literature teacher, Ms. Rougely. Ihope that these books will empower, increase vocabulary and comprehension, and bring peace tothose who read as it did to me. I hope that I can donate more books in the future.”
-Sui Vang
“I believe every single child deserves to have access to books.”
-Lauren Siegel
“I try to pick out booksthat seem interesting, that I would enjoy reading, and that kids will be able to relate to the way Irelated to my first favorite book. It feels like I’m a kid in a candy store with no limitations. Thisproject brings new meaning to the phrase “give happily.” I only wish I could give more.”
-Myra Pardue
“This project is a way to encourage students to readand further educate themselves. In my opinion I feel this project is a very inspiring and importantfor the future generations”
-Hillary Koenig
“This is a golden opportunity to change a child’s life in a good way, and I think it is the best thing that can be done to supportthe future of children.”
-Jueun Lim
“When I was younger one of my favorite things to do was reading books, so this project caught my eyes because I was surprised by how so many children did not have access to books. I feel that books are so important when growing up. They help us to be inspired and make us excited to learn.”
-Jenny Han
“My participation in ending book deserts will be donating to schools with low funding and a budget toget books.”
-Deborah Ngoma Nyota
“This project was eye-opening to how many books people keep that collect dust on abookshelf. Yet, the world’s knowledge lies within the pages of books. It’s been a privilege tocontribute to society through this project. Through this project, I learned why people held ontobooks and the reason why they let them go..”
-Tiffany Nguyen
“You don’t have to go out and buy 50 books. If all of us donate a few of our high quality books,we can eliminate book deserts in Georgia.”
-Hannah Ekstedt
“I hope students can like the story of Harry Potter.”
-Lin Yu
“I got excited to be apart of this. I have gotten so many donations from people all over the world. A lot of parents were willing to donate books that their children no longer use. Those who did not have books to donate were willing to either buy books or provide a monetary donation to assist in me purchasing the books. I have received monetary donations from people in different states, which I have used to purchase books for Jolly Elementary school. I have also contributed by using funds to purchase books to donate.”
-Triss Bailey
“Reading is very important throughyour life especially when you’re a child. When you read early you being to intake the knowledgethat you need. When you children are young and even as infants it’s very important to read tothem. The lack of books in urban areas is very heartbreaking. There are enough books in theworld to where we as citizens should have full access to them.”
-Myah Taylor
“I appreciate the opportunity I had with this project to help students in need of books. I have never really been involved in anything exactly like this before and am grateful for the experience. It was humbling and rewarding!”
-Keona Jones
“Growing up getting lost in a book was my favorite thing to do. It’s a privilege to contribute to society through this project. Eliminating book deserts is a great way to take books that are just collecting dust on shelves, and putting it to good use, this project advocates for children in high poverty areas who lack basic access to age-appropriate books, reading materials and book culture. Learning to read is a crucial component of a child’s success. A youngster who lives in a book desert, where books are scarce, may not have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to become an engaged reader.”
-Raquel Bastos
“In my opinion, every child should be allowed toread whatever they desire, are mildly interested in, want to challenge, orwant to learn more about. The elimination of book deserts will begin thatprocess & make education & learning a priority in all communities, not justthe affluent ones.”
-Caitlin Cabellero
“We live in a world that has so many resourcesand such great wealth, but there are still places that do not have access to enough books to suittheir community.”
-Hannah Boyers
“This assignment was very eye-opening for many reasons. It gave me a reason to go back through all the books I ever received that were in storage. When looking through the books Ifound a lot of things I didn’t need anymore but also some books that I felt I should read again before giving them away. Although they’re mostly chapter books I felt as though some of thebooks were very impactful on my life and could impact other lives as well. I donated many books to Clarkston High School in hopes that a student there finds purpose when reading thebooks as I once did.”
-Christopher Washington
“As I am not originally from Georgia, it was an additional challenge to not be able to donate old books that I had around my home, from my childhood or my siblings. I knew I needed to get creative and find new ways to come up with a good number of books for donation. I began to search around at thrift stores and looked up any postings for yard sales or garage sales in my area. This led me to find many books for many ages, not only children’s books. As I am coming into this project late in the game, I felt as if the best way for me to go about the donation would be to send it to a specific school to ensure that the books would be delivered.”
-Laura Jean-Baptiste
“Overall, this project gave me theopportunity to have informative conversations with my educator friends about their literary needsfor their classrooms, learn more about literary access, and contribute toward the number of booksthat students in my community are able to use to enhance their education.”
-Victoria Vesely (Donation to Jolly Elementary)
“Prior to my research of thisclass project my knowledge about books desert was nonexistent. Realizing that the eliminationof book desert wouldn’t that easy it is kind of discouraging; however, the experience was aneye opening experience.”
-Diamond Richardson
“I did not know that therewhere so many book deserts in the USA.”
-Devin Hagans
“I really enjoyed donating books to Jolly Elementary school. This experience made me want todonate more.”
-Triss Bailey
“I did enjoy doing thisassignment and this will be something that I will consider giving to my students when I become an educator.”
-Jalen Holmes
“Kids need to read. Donate books today. #eliminatingbookdeserts”
-Molly Hamann
“Reading is a major part of the foundation for every child’s education. Childrengrow remarkably in all areas of academics and beyond by reading. I think of reading as criticalexercise for the mind, like how exercise for your body is critical, because both are significantlyimportant for us to stay healthy. Books open up children’s’ imaginations to be incredible andallow them to think big.”
-Huma Khan
“We as teachers(to be), need to invest in our future, our students.”
-Cindy Morales-Mier
“I like that this project collects book donations togive to those who love to read.”
-Andrea Ramirez-Bernal
“The eliminating book deserts project really opened my eyes to the dire need for books in schools.”
-Abigail Lucio
“Ask your family and friends if they have any used books that they arewilling to part with. Make sure they are comfortable with giving those books away, anddon’t feel guilty about it. If you have any books from your childhood that are taking toomuch space and you don’t have good use for them, they would be great for donating.”
-Zahra Majd
“I thought this was very interesting. A book could inspire a child to writepoems, stories of their own, or even provide a fantasy world to be wrapped up in…”
-Guienevere Lower
“The #EliminatingBookDeserts project is a great way to be involved in the education of studentseverywhere.”
-Demetria Lampkin
“For my field placement assignment, I decided to do the #EliminatingBookDeserts projectto donate books for schools who need them the most. The reason why I chose to donate isbecause I wanted to help those students who are interested in reading, but could not find manybooks that interest their tastes.”
-Kiara Newby
“I have agreat feeling about giving these books to a good cause and looking forward to donating evenmore books in the future. It is great to say goodbye to these books and allow others to have achance to read these great books that wait for their next reader.”
-Emmanuel Montes
“If it were not for this project, I do not think I would have ever known this issue existed. It is amazing to know how many organizations areteaming up to help raise so many books.”
-Judith Munguia Rascon
“I am happy to say that I was a part of something much bigger than myself.”
-Chas Koenig
“Doing this project, I have learned so much.”
-Destiny Hill
“I was able to donate 67 books for the #EliminatingBookDeserts project.”
-Dayja Adams
“Before taking Dr. Flowers ‘ class, I had never heard of a book desert…”
-April Axton
“Reading is a gateway to adventure, opportunity and success in life. The Book Desert Project made me feel like I was expanding others’ chances to maximize that gateway. Reading did not come easy to me as a young child. It wasn’t until I found a book series that resonated with me that I overcame my fears and began to enjoy reading. I want to give that opportunity to other kids – that is why I chose to participate in the Book Desert Project.”
-N. Voorhees, GSU Perimeter College Student
“Because “not every book is going to connect with every student,” I collected 240 books hoping that there is a “right book” in the collection somewhere for every hand and head that needs it. I hope that a child finding their “right book” brings the true joy that can only be spawned from touching the pages, smelling, and devouring the printed word of their “right book.”
-Chloe Foster
“I collected a few free books from my local library as well as a few of my brother’s old books to donate to the eliminating book deserts initiative. This is my third time now donating to this cause. The way that local economics affect public school is something that is very important to me, and I will continue to donate books as I can. Every child deserves access to books, and good books at that.”
-Kimberly Aria-Mahylna
“I chose to donate a couple of books to Jolly Elementary School in Clarkston, GA. This was myvery first time donating books but I was very interested to do it and see the school for myself inperson.”
-Crystal Latimer
“This project taught me that all children are not fortunate enough to have access to books,so it was important for me to do this donation. As a child and even now I enjoy reading, so it’sgreat that now children at Jolly Elementary School in Clarkston will have an opportunity to readbooks that can impact them positively. As a young student, I enjoyed the Gingerbread man,Curious George, and the Berenstain Bears to name a few, so I’m sure students will enjoy readingthese books as much as I did.”
-Erica Garcia
