Give a child a book, give the gift of literacy

ABERDEEN - Literacy for all children is being promoted throughout the area, thanks to the Monmouth County Reading Council's Have a Heart, Give a Book campaign.

"It is just a wonderful program that brings books to children who might not otherwise be able to afford them," said MCRC President Michele Mackay. "We felt it was important to promote literacy throughout the county, and this campaign has just brought in so many books."

The Monmouth County Reading Council set out to collect donations of new books during the month of January at various collection sites and distribute them to organizations that serve underprivileged children.

Collection sites include schools throughout the county, Blue Moon Yoga studio in Shrewsbury, the Tinton Falls Library and the Presbyterian Church of Shrewsbury, to name a few.

The Cliffwood Elementary School served as the site for wrapping the books when the campaign ended. According to Mackay, approximately 40 volunteers were on hand to help with the wrapping.

Mackay, a reading teacher at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, first heard about the campaign through her church group and has been involved with the council ever since.

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Tim Briggs, 11, of Fair Haven (left photo) and Colleen Huddy, 10, of Girl Scout Troop 268 (below, right) are just two of the many volunteers lending a hand for the Monmouth County Reading Council's "Have a Heart, Give a Book" book-wrapping party at the Cliffwood Elementary School on Jan. 31. The MCRC's campaign ran throughout January and had collection sites all over the county. "I think it is such an easy program for people to get involved in," she said. "It is simple to do. If you want to collect books, you just set out a box and a sign and give out a few fliers, and the books just start coming in."

JoAnn Nocera, vice president of the MCRC and a second-grade teacher at the Cliffwood Elementary School, agreed.

"It's just a really good way to bring literacy into people's homes and into children's lives," she said. "Around Aberdeen we will be dropping books off at some of the local hospitals and to Manna House on Cliffwood Avenue."

Mackay couldn't even venture a guess as to how many books would be collected, since the numbers were still rising

at the time of the interview. The campaign began at the beginning of January.

A local Middletown Boy Scout made a donation of 500 books after he set out collection sites throughout his community.

A

ccording to Mackay, a donation of

500 books isn't unusual.

"People love this campaign," Mackay said. "It is easy for people to go out and buy a book, if you can afford one, and just donate it."

As the "Have a Heart, Give a Book" campaign draws to a close, the books will be sorted by grade level and wrapped as gifts for local children, just in time for Valentine's Day.

"As teachers, we level the books from preschool all the way up, and council [members] and local volunteers come out for the wrapping party," Mackay explained. "Then we label them for either a girl or a boy and the age and reading level."

According to Mackay, the books will be distributed to local nonprofits such as the United Way and clinics such as the Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank. The donated books will also be given to local tutoring programs such as the one at the Community YMCA in Red Bank.

When Spanish-language books are donated, they will be sent to Guatemala for the International Literacy Project through Jane Sullivan, chair of the International Project Committee, a subgroup of the New Jersey Reading Council. Other bilingual books will be forwarded to Head Start in Long Branch.

"We go down to Guatemala about two or three times a year," Sullivan said. "We bring donated books and also hold seminars for the teachers down there to attend."

Sullivan said that the upcoming trip will be about 10 days and will leave on Feb. 13.

"We couldn't do this type of thing without the help of the people who donate to the campaigns through the local reading councils," Sullivan added. "And we appreciate the support that they get from the local residents."

The Monmouth County Reading Council is composed of teachers of all levels from throughout the county and meets regularly to develop campaigns to encourage reading among students and residents.