PTA Sponsored Free Books Fair Promotes Literacy
Ten thousand books were distributed over two days to students in grades K-12 in the White Plains School District during the White Plains PTA 2nd Annual Free Book Celebration.
The main event, held outdoors Saturday at Eastview Middle School, attracted over 900 people who took away 8,000 books. The first 100 people arrived within 10 minutes of the celebration opening.
A “mini” celebration on Friday at White Plains High School saw 2,000 books distributed in one hour, with all the SAT prep books gone within eight minutes.
Caroline Furry, co-chair of the event was grateful for the good weather on Saturday morning and happy to see so many people out for the event.
Flurry said the Free Book Celebration was developed by the PTA to support the district and teachers to promote literacy. “This was something that as parents we could do,” she said.
Reading literacy is a major factor that can determine if children meet their full intellectual and career potential. In White Plains as well as other communities, families often face financial constraints and other challenges that can prevent them from providing their children full access to books. The Free Book Celebration, by its very nature, hopes to address some of these challenges.
Each child received a black canvas shoulder bag with an orange literacy logo (White Plains school colors). The books were arranged according to grade level and included English as well as Spanish titles in fiction and non-fiction categories.
A Favorite Books board allowed students to post the names of their favorite titles along with their school. The information will be used later to create a Recommended Books list.
Furry noted that the Favorite Books posting encouraged students to think and then discuss the titles they liked with other students gathered around the board. Older students helped the younger children write their posts.
Wilber David Thomas a 7th grade student at the Highlands Middle School said he had selected mystery and non-fiction titles, which he enjoyed reading “just for the fun of it.”
Thomas arrived early to get a jump on his selections and then volunteered with the PTA team.
Students and families participating enjoyed pizza, water supplied by Stop and Shop and cotton candy served up by White Plains resident Nick Wolff.
Local dignitaries, including Mayor Tom Roach, State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, and County Legislator Ben Boykin, pitched in and helped the PTA distribute books during the latter part of the morning
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who serves on the State Assembly Committee on Education, said at the event, “Reading is at the core of everything we do. It opens doors. It allows us to learn and plan for the future. When a community embraces reading, they demonstrate to our children how important it is to us all. The White Plains PTA Council should be applauded for their efforts.”
Supporters for this year’s Free Book Celebration include the Entergy Foundation, Stop and Shop, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the Princeton Review, and the Main Street Book Company.
