Librarian Laura Gardner and the Young Philanthropists
Dartmouth Middle School thought they’d collected a lot of books for GiftsToGive in 2010 when they collected over 3,200 gently used books for kids and teens in one week.
Then they smashed that record in 2011 by collecting over 6,000 gently used books.
Now DMS students have smashed that record once again by donating 7,154 books!
Doing the heavy lifting
The books were collected as part of the Amazing Race, a culture building R.A.R.E. activity held annually at the middle school. The book drive was one aspect of the Amazing Race.
Other activities included a scavenger hunt, and a building activity involving only straws.
The book drive was held all week long leading up to the Amazing Race held on Friday, January 18. For every five books students brought in, their homeroom received one point toward the Amazing Race. The book drive quickly got competitive, especially between rival homerooms in the school.
The Principal does the heavy lifting
The book drive was coordinated by librarian Laura Gardner. “It’s really exciting to focus that competitive spirit on something positive like this. Daily announcements on who was in the lead really inspired kids to bring in more books. Many of the books that were donated are in near perfect condition; I couldn’t be happier about the outcome!”
All the books have been delivered to GiftsToGive where they will be sorted by age level and distributed to school libraries in SouthCoast Public Schools and to thousands of local children in-need.