My name is Evette Allari, and I am on the Rage U11 Orange team. When I found out I had to do a community service project, I knew exactly what to do. I wanted to do a book drive because I love to read.
For my first step, I had to find a local organization that could use children books. I contacted the owner of Towne Center Books, our local bookstore. I told her I was planning a book drive, and I was looking for a local organization that would need books. She said that the “Booklegger” volunteer group at the Pleasanton Library might be collecting books for a school in Stockton. I emailed the “Booklegger” coordinator, Chris Spitzel, and she was able to provide me with the Stockton contact person, Jeff Keller, who is director of educational services at the Stockton Unified School District. After Chris Spitzel gave me his contact information, I sent him an email asking if he wanted books. He said he was very interested and appreciated my help and support.
I made a flyer and told my class, Ms. Sweeney’s fifth grade class at Valley View Elementary School, I was doing a book drive, so they could bring books to class. I then told my team that they could bring books to practice for kids in Stockton. Together, my class and team brought in 564 books. I was so excited!
My last step was to bring the books to Jeff Keller. When I brought the books to him, he was very appreciative of the work I put in to getting the books. He told me it was great that I brought the books because the children really needed it. The only books that the kids had were not at the right reading level, so they tended to not read every day. Jeff Keller was a lot of help because he was in touch with me constantly, and he helped me find a way to get the books to the kids.
I was so happy that the kids could now have more books. The owner of Towne Center Books, Chris Spitzel, and Jeff Keller all helped to make it happen. Now the children can read new books!
The project made me learn more about communication, organization, responsibility, and how much others were willing to help. Working with adults, teammates, and classmates helped me learn how to communicate with people. Doing the project and collecting my books helped me learn how to be responsible and organized. When everyone helped me, I realized how much time people take to help others. My whole project was a great experience for me, and now the kids can read books at their level.
