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CURRENT PROJECT: 2009
Uncle Sam Wants Your Books!
It’s time to start gearing up for our Children’s Book Drive! This book drive is held every year in conjunction with the AALL annual meeting, and in honor of our host city this year’s theme is “Uncle Sam Wants Your Books!” But truth be told, the people who really want your books are the students, parents, librarians, and teachers at Heather Hill Elementary School, this year’s recipient for the SR book drive.
Heather Hill Elementary is in the Prince George’s County School District, a Maryland county that borders D.C. It is the 17th largest school district in the country, with a high population of under-served minorities and immigrants. It is also one of the most disadvantaged and economically distressed districts in Maryland, struggling with recent budget cuts and a community that has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.
Heather Hill Elementary serves a special population as it is a TAG magnet school which, although it provides many opportunities for the students, also creates an extra burden for the constant renewal of library resources. But since it is a TAG school, the school also gets a good deal of community and parental support - they are really trying to meet the challenges of their community and to move ahead.
How can you help the Heather Hill community meet their challenges?
- Order a book online from the “AALL Book Drive 2009 Wish List” on Amazon.com, by searching the Wish Lists for the keyword “aall”, or by going straight to http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/20S6D48IVIM66 Books ordered this way will be delivered directly to Heather Hill Elementary School.
- Send check [made out to AALL] or online bookstore gift card to our Book Drive team:
Leslie M. Campbell
Law Library Program Administrator
Administrative Office of the United States Courts
One Columbus Circle, NE
Room 4-513 South
Washington, DC 20544
- Drop off books or online gift cards or checks in D.C. during the AALL Meeting at the Social Responsibilities SIS (SR-SIS) table in the Exhibit Hall.
If you have questions about the book drive, please contact one of the members of the SR-SIS Book Drive Team (Leslie Campbell, leslie.campbell@ao.uscourts.gov, and Stacy Etheredge, sethered@richmond.edu).
The Social Responsibilities SIS and AALL continue the tradition of giving something back to the community that hosts our Annual Meeting through this, our eleventh annual Children’s Book Drive. For a list of the prior book drives see, http://aallnet.org/sis/srsis/projects.html
PRIOR PROJECTS:
A Book for Every Child 2008
Donations benefited the Willamette Writers Inc. Books for
Kids program, which collects and distributes
over 23,000 new and used books every year to underprivileged children and teenagers served by over 50 agencies and organizations
throughout Portland, Oregon state, and SW Washington state. Total cash raised: $2,005.
ReCovering New Orleans: One Book at a Time 2007
Donations benefited the
Recovery District Schools in New Orleans. The RSD has 21 needy schools under its umbrella including
elementary, middle and
high schools.
Show Me the Books! 2006
Donations benefitted St. Louis' Central Elementary and Vashon 9th Grade Academy. Under the direction of James Donovan and
Ann Pucket, member donations totalled 563 books and $880 were donated before, during and just after the meeting. The Social Responsibilities SIS supplemented the cash donations by adding a $1000 gift from the SIS treasury. The organizers also partnered with a local book shop, Left Bank Books, which sold $1000 in gift cards to be used by the two beneficiary schools for their libraries. Total cash raised: $2,880.
Fiesta of Books! 2005
A tribute to San Antonio's Hispanic cultural
heritage. Fiesta of Books!, under the capable direction of Ron
Wheeler and Barbara Lah of the University of New Mexico Law Library,
raised $2,200 and more than 450 books for five of the neediest
elementary schools in San Antonio.
Make Way! 2004
The theme for the 2004 Book Drive, Make Way!, was based on Boston's
beloved children's book "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey (The
Viking Press, New York, 1941).
The 2004 Make Way! Book Drive raised a total of 562 books and $1,721 in
monetary donations - nearly triple the previous year's donations, and an
incredible gift to this year's recipient - Read Boston, a city initiative
whose mission is to ensure that all Boston children are able readers by
the time they complete third grade.
BOOKLESS IN SEATTLE, 2003
The membership of AALL and the SR-SIS donated over 200 books and $1140 in cash and
bookstore gift certificates to the First Place School library during our annual book drive at
the 2003 AALL Annual Meeting in Seattle, "Bookless in Seattle." The librarian was happy to
receive several copies of the Harry Potter series as well as
dictionaries and young adult fiction.
First Place is a private non-profit school and social service agency serving children and
families in transition, in crisis, or homeless. Most of the families served live below the
poverty line and 80% of the families are fleeing domestic violence. The school serves children
in grades kindergarten through 7th grade.
CONNECTING WITH KIDS, 2002
The book drive for the 2002 Annual
Meeting benefitted the New Beginnings Educational Complex in Kissimmee,
FL, which houses two programs -- "Crossroads Center" (middle and high
school) and "Cornerstone" (K-12). Both programs educate children and
teenagers who have behavioral and academic problems that likely would
jeopardize their success in traditional schools. Tim Coggins and Karen
Westwood chaired the effort.
TWICE AS RESPONSIBLE, 2001
What do Anne of Green
Gables and Litle Women have in common? They were the two
most-donated titles to this year's service project at the Annual Meeting
in Minneapolis. For the third year in a row, the SR-SIS organized the
project of collecting and donating books to the libraries of public
schools in the host cities. Since AALL was held in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis and St. Paul, the SIS decided to be "twice as responsible" and
collect for both school districts.
More than 160 books were collected during the Annual Meeting. Most were
new, although some gently used titles also made an appearance. In
addition, the SR-SIS voted at its business meeting to donate $500 out of
its treasury to each school district. Members donated personal checks
worth $120. The media directors for both cities' public schools thanked
AALL members for their generosity.
LITERACY BUILDS INDEPENDENCE, 2000
The SIS once again gave
members of AALL a chance to give something back to our host city,
Philadelphia, through volunteer efforts for the public school libraries.
This year's program offered members a choice of two different days in
which to volunteer time. Debra Gniewek, Director of the Public School
Library System, made arrangements with different public school librarians
for our volunteer efforts. Also, in an effort to make contributions to the
schools, children's book donations were encouraged. The SIS itself gives
$1,000 yearly to the host city's public school library program.
A CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION, 1999
We selected the Adams Elementary
School library as the primary beneficiary of "A Capital Contribution" in
Washington, D.C. Teams of volunteers went out to the school on Wednesday,
July 21, an effort coordinated by Karen Westwood. It was a huge success,
with efforts from about 25-30 members going into the public schools and
donating their time and talents to the school libraries in need. These
contributions ranged from reading to children, cataloguing, computer
troubleshooting, weeding, or clerical help. Carol Billings coordinated
the book collection for the D.C. Public schools. At the Social
Responsibilities SIS table in the Exhibit Hall Activities Area members
collected new books appropriate for kindergarten through sixth grade
children. All AALL members were encouraged to purchase one or more books
to bring along in their suitcases so the project volunteers could deliver
them when they visited the Adams Elementary School.
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