LIVONIA, Mich. – Community members across Metro Detroit helped us Go 4 It in March by donating new and like-new books for local elementary and middle school students.
People came out in the cold and snow to drop off books at Masco Corporation in Livonia to drop off books. Now, local students are benefitting from your generosity. Volunteers began delivering the books on Wednesday. The first school to receive the books was Mann Learning Community in Detroit.
Go 4 It: Magic of Reading Book Drive brings community together to support Metro Detroit students
Cheers filled Ms. Heather Martin’s classroom as large boxes of books arrived. The first-grade students’ faces lit up with excitement as they rummaged through the boxes to claim the books they wanted to read.
More than 9,500 children’s books were donated as part of the Go 4 It: The Magic of Reading Children’s Book Drive. Books spanned all types of subjects, themes, and interests. Generous community members donated books knowing they would be going to students, classrooms, and libraries in schools that could really use them.
“Reading is so important,” said Ms. Martin. “If they cannot read, they won’t be successful. My daughter had a hard time reading and that was part of the reason I became a first-grade teacher.”
Many of the Local 4 viewers and community members who donated books shared stories about how reading could be a pathway to possibilities.
The book donations are helping to benefit two local nonprofits. Chapter One is a program that offers reading tutors to children in different schools. Teach for America Detroit is working with educators across campuses in some of the region’s underserved communities.
“Some children don’t have books at home, or very little at home,” said Julie Beatty, a third-grade teacher at Mann. “We’re always trying to get books into their hands. So, this is a fantastic donation and we really appreciate this.”
Mann Learning Community partners with Chapter One. Teachers and students say reading and literacy initiatives are making a difference.
“I didn’t get excited about books until I got older and then I started understanding what’s the point of books, because I didn’t know at first,” said student William Porchia. “But now it’s just the best thing.”
The book donations will help the students build their own personal libraries.
The books will be distributed to more school campuses in the coming days and weeks.
We want to honor those making a difference. Click here to nominate someone who’s Going 4 It in your community. We’ll be featuring your nominees every month on Local 4 and ClickOnDetroit.