The Metea Valley National English Honors Society (NEHS) is currently hosting its annual book drive. The book drive started on Feb. 25 and ends on March 10. Students can bring in new or gently used books and drop them off in the book drive bins located in English classrooms.
Knowing that there are areas nearby that do not have the same access to books as Metea does, NEHS partnered with Bernie’s Book Bank to collect and provide books to kids in the Chicagoland area. English teacher Erin Drufke talks about why Bernie’s Book Bank was the best choice.
“Their whole mission is to collect people who are volunteering and donating, and then immediately recirculate out into areas to help kids,” Drufke said.
While donating to Bernie’s Book Bank is the book drive’s main focus, Drufke mentions another benefit of the book drive.
“We’re installing [the Mini Mustangs Little Library], and really the focus of that is with our mini Mustangs, our preschool program,” Drufke said. “Therefore, part of our donations this year [is what] we will be utilizing to start that library and have a curation of books that we can then refill as we get that going later this spring.”
The book drive is organized by the NEHS board members, who aim to make it impactful and competitive. NEHS members decorated drop-off boxes for books and placed them in English classes and English offices.
Additionally, the board made an effort to cross their goal of 500 books by adding a competitive element, giving a prize to the class that donates the most books. Drufke talks about some of the past incentives NEHS has implemented to surpass its goal.
“We’ve also done some stand-up characters in the classroom for students to do photo ops, something fun, but we [also] hope that students are getting a lot out of just being able to donate,” Drufke said.
The book drive is a great opportunity for students to get rid of books that they are either not interested in anymore or that are not at their reading level. Many students take advantage of the book drive to donate books they no longer want, while simultaneously helping the community.
If you are interested in participating in the book drive, drop off any books in the donation bins located in English classrooms.
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